#i really like exploring the little we get of stanley

[s0lk]

stannarrator is an odd and confusing ship to me because i can enjoy it but only when it’s not framed as canon. that’s not to say i’m completely against the ship or that i haven’t consumed/made content of their canon selves in the past, but i’ve been doing some thinking and i feel like there’s a lot of pretty concerning aspects to their canon dynamic that are either downplayed or flat-out ignored by the fandom. (fandom mischaracterises characters for the sake of shipping, fork found in kitchen, i know, i know.)

i feel like people tend to reduce them to “toxic yaoi”, which… i mean, “toxic” is accurate, but i feel like the label is generally used to mean an enemies-to-lovers couple who fights often and usually has some kind of sadomasochism involved. this is what i generally see with fanon depictions of them - stanley is a cheeky little brat and the narrator is a cool sexy dom who like ties him up with the adventure line or something. i admit i was very much one of these people for a while. the thing is that they aren’t toxic in the sexy internet sense, their dynamic is genuinely unhealthy and harmful. there’s a massive power imbalance between them - which is very much exploited by the narrator - and while a power imbalance isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the key issue is that stanley is never seen to take the same enjoyment from it as the narrator does. if we take the narrator’s description of his emotions to be true, stanley is often pretty damn terrified by the things that happen to him, and if we take the description to be false, then the narrator still wants to cause suffering. he wants stanley to be afraid, to cower and beg for mercy, to do exactly what he asks of him, no matter what. in the ultra deluxe announcement, stanley runs from the narrator. he tries to be free of him, but there is no freedom to be found. he is trapped.

despite all this, we (the fandom) still like to have stanley be the silly, disobedient, sort-of-masochistic little critter, and i think the main issue is that we project ourselves so much onto him. we disobey the narrator, so naturally stanley must do the same. we play the countdown ending, think “goddamn he sounds hot” (which, i mean, i’m not going to argue with that) and decide that stanley must obviously feel the same way. there isn’t much to his personality in canon, so we decide that that makes him a blank-slate self-insert character, but that means that most stannarrator content ends up feeling more like player x narrator instead, with stanley being merely a vessel through which to enact our own desires.

there’s nothing necessarily wrong with characterising stanley this way, obviously. you can do what you want with him, and that’s the fun of it. it just annoys me when stanley acts as the player generally does, and it’s framed as if this is him, this is absolutely the canon version of his character, because the narrator says stanley makes those choices so obviously this is who he is! what this interpretation completely fails to consider is that, unlike with most video games, stanley and the player are two entirely separate entities. isn’t it so much more interesting to consider the implications of that, or to explore who stanley could be without the player’s influence?

this is why i really like AUs, because you’re awarded a degree of creative freedom that you don’t have when you’re working entirely off canon. want stanley to be a real person, with no one puppeteering him? go for it! make him a mischevious little fellow, because now it is actually him thinking and feeling for himself! you can even find workarounds or solutions for the more problematic elements of their dynamic, by putting them in scenarios where there is no power imbalance (coworker AUs for instance) or getting the narrator to actually acknowledge and rectify his own flaws and cruelty to stanley. the latter i particularly like (and it’s what i’m trying to achieve in my own fic), because it doesn’t deviate too far from canon but still allows for their relationship to get a little healthier. the thing with that though is that it takes Time, and i mean a Lot of time. and even when the narrator has improved as a person, it doesn’t really feel right for them to suddenly jump into a relationship. or even have a relationship. there’s a lot that goes into rebuilding a bond after that sort of treatment, and stanley has every right to not want anything to do with the narrator, whether romantically or at all. i do like the thought of them at least being friends after all that recovery (i’m a sucker for happy endings), but realistically there’s no reason stanley has to fall in love with the narrator.

anyway. yeah. once again, i don’t hate them as a pair, and i completely understand why people portray them the way they do, but it just… bugs me. dunno if this makes sense or if anyone feels the same way about this as i do, but here it is.

[lixel-5]

i love dissecting the stanley parable narrator

at first, you think he’s a sadistic bitch

then you realize he really just wants to show stanley and the player his story

then, you realize maybe he didn’t make this entire game.

and. oh god. he doesn’t know anything about this game. he’s almost completely clueless, he’s literally just reading off a script. he can’t remember anything that’s not currently happening.

he’s a narrator and nothing else, he’s not meant to remember or comprehend. he’s just meant to read a script.

at first he’s dominating and powerful, but it’s all a mask. he’s at the mercy of Stanley. of the player. of us.

and, isn’t that what every fictional character is? a play toy for us?

but he knows. he’s well aware of his existence as a fiction. he hates it. oh how he despises it.

[iri-desky]

Doof: "You see Perry The Platypus, about a few weeks ago I entered The Tumblr Sexyman Showdown. It's a contest for only the sexiest of men-- now now, Perry the Platypus, before you roll your eyes at me, it's not the conventional kind of sexy, no, no! It's the pathetic, the silly, the unconventional! Only for the acquired tastes. Like me~!! So I joined in, and you wouldn't believe it! I plowed through the competition! Bracket after bracket, I dominated the votes. That is, until the final round... when I was put up against Stanley Pines of someplace called 'Gravity Falls'-- for some reason, even though he claimed to come from a place called Gravity Falls and I come from the Tri-State Area, the competition listed me to come from someplace called 'Phineas and Ferb', and I have no idea where that is or who those people are--I was kicked to the curb! He won by a landslide! Well, not literally though, that's a metaphor--that's how Bill Cipher won against Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians, and I KNOW that place doesn't exist--b-but anyway, Stanley won and I only got second. And it doesn't make any sense! Sure, Stanley is similar to what the true Sexyman is, but he's not the greatest! For one thing, he's not that pathetic--jeez, if anyone is the most pathetic here, it's me! He's not that tragic-backstory-able, or anything, he--and worse yet, he's HOT! I mean, he's not that much of an acquired taste! Sure, he's older, but that's it!! Clearly, the people are biased! Which is why I made...THIS!"

Doof: "BEHOLD! THE UNHANDSOME-INATOR!!!!"

Doof: "With this, I can make anyone ugly--so ugly that their ugliness is JUUUST too ugly to be a Tumblr Sexyman! But too handsome to be truly ugly...and I can also tweak it to make myself just a little more handsome, hehe! With this, I will make the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA Sexyman ugly, and shoot myself so I will be the most acquired-taste-handsome out of all of them, winning the love of all of the TRI-STATE AREA, AND ENACTING MY REVENGE AGAINST THE TUMBLR SEXYMAN CONTEST!!!"

Doof: "--Or wait, come to think of it, this isn't really revenge, I mean, the contest's over and it won't come back until next year so this scheme prooobably should've been postponed until then... not to mention this inator isn't exactly that tweaked, it's a rushed job and has some...ahaha...side effects...unless I CRANK UP THE RANGE OF THE INATOR!"

Doof: "Yes, Perry The Platypus, I will become the most tumblr-sexyman handsome by proxy in all of the tri-state area AND GRAVITY FALLS, OREGON!!!"

| Meanwhile In Gravity Falls |

*Stan, reading the paper, suddenly looks up.*

Stan: "Something just happened."

*beat*

Stan: "...Eh. Who cares. Worse has happened in this town. It's probably the heebie jeebies from that German guy from a couple days ago, eugh."

Stan: "Worth it for the prize money, though. I'm still the sexiest man on all of Tumblr! Ahaha!"

*beat*

Stan, still grinning: "...whatever that is."

*A beat. Then the door to the Mystery Shack slams open. It's Ford.*

Ford: "Stanley! I'm back!"

Stanley: "Hey, sixer. Back from another one of your little adventures?"

Ford: "I suppose you could call it that! Ever been to the tri-state area? There are hundreds of anomalies there! Did you know that all the platypuses are teal there?"

Stanley: "Yeah, yeah...well, make sure to tell me later. I'm reading the paper."

Ford: "Well, don't get too absorbed. We're going to Italy tomorrow, remember? We're visiting the Vatican! Lots of great things to explore there! We might even see the pope!"

[darlingdaisyfarm]

Ford x fem!reader x Stan

minors dni

Stan’s grip on you tightens, pulling you against his frame as he crashes his lips against yours. There’s no hesitation, just raw, impatient hunger. A kiss that takes your breath away and leaves you wanting more. His hands roam with a boldness that leaves no room for doubt, fingers digging into your hips as if claiming you.

From behind, Ford’s approach is way softer. His lips ghost along the curve of your neck, pressing tender slow kisses to your skin. Such contrast between them makes you dizzy, overwhelmed by the intensity of their touches. You groan softly, caught in the heat of it all, and instinctively lean back into Ford’s embrace. There Stan's face visibly frowns.

Stan pulls back just enough to mutter, “Don't let him think he's in charge here.” his tone is rough, tinged with jealousy, his hand slides over your side, possessive and demanding as if trying to take you away from his twin.

Before you can respond, Ford’s voice cuts through, quiet but confident. “She can decide for herself, Stan,” he murmurs, his lips grazing the shell of your ear, sending a shiver through you. “can’t you, darling?”

The tension between the brothers is palpable, but so is the way their hands explore your body. Stan’s touch is firm, always a little too eager, while Ford’s fingers trail gently over your skin, savoring every inch. They both can’t get enough of you. Stan’s lips crash back into yours, but Ford’s kisses never stop, his mouth pressing slow, sensual kisses along the sensitive skin of your neck, you literally melt between them. 

A loud moan escapes your lips when Stan's hand slaps your butt, you sob from a little pain and feel Ford's body tense behind you as he glares at his brother. “What? Are you trying to make me look bad?” Stan huffs.

Ford smirks softly, nipping at your skin gently before whispering, “no? Im just appreciating how beautiful she is.” his touch is feather-light, contrasting with Stan’s more possessive grip. “and I'm trying to please her, Stanley, not hurt her."

“Yeah? well, I’d like to appreciate her too,” Stan bites out, jealousy bubbling inside him. “don’t forget who’s been here longer.” he murmurs into your mouth and leans in again, capturing your lips.

You whimper softly, overwhelmed by their attention, your face all flushed as you try to hold yourself. Both men vying for your attention. Ford smiles against your skin. “Good girl,” he praises softly.

Stan, at the exact same time, mutters, “Atta girl.”

They both fall silent as their words intersect in the most unexpected way. They pull away, looking at each other over your shoulder, realizing what just happened. There's an awkward silence for a moment, but then Stan huffs in annoyance, his grip on your waist tightening. “Seriously? you gotta steal my lines now?”

Ford, always calm, arches an eyebrow, and the corner of his mouth twitches in a smirk. “Didn’t realize praise was trademarked,” he remarks dryly.

You laugh softly, but the sound breathy from arousal. "Are you really arguing about this right now?” you ask them, needing their attention and kisses so badly, you don’t want that to stop.

Stan shoots a half-grin your way, nodding. “You better believe it, sweetie. I’m not lettin’ this nerd outdo me.”

Ford still remains calm and patient, although his hand slides up, cupping your chin, gently turning your face towards him. “Outdo you? Stan, we’re not in a competition.” his lips gently touch yours as he murmurs, “we’re both making her feel good.”

Stan’s cocky grin widens, and he leans in, his voice rough as he rests his hands on your thighs. “Speak for yourself, i think she likes me better.”

Ford chuckles smoothly, rolling his eyes and pressing another kiss to your shoulder, his breath tickles your skin pleasantly. “Is that so? Why don’t we let her tell us herself?”

Your heart pounds, your body burns at their touch and it takes your breath away when their eyes focus solely on you, waiting, watching. “I. . . I like both of you,” you admit breathlessly. “please, just- just continue, I need you both.”

Stan’s eyes light up, his fingers slide lower, his thumb brushing teasingly along your hip. “That’s my girl.”

Ford’s touch remains soft still, his lips pressing a delicate kiss to your neck as he murmurs against your skin, “You’re perfect, darling.”

[bloodchapell]

Hi, I would like some where the 5 wise generals + Stanley and Xeno, go out with a Latina (from Costa Rica) with a very strong character, and she always manages to give them orders and they don't refute, please.

si señora, yes ma'am

what to expect: latina reader HELL YEAHHH, mix between modern au and canon

your sword's note: as a latina myself this was what i needed hell yeahhh, if my colombian mindset slips thru this ignore it, (or embrace it idek) will try to make it neutral, more on my mistresslist

Ryusui:

Starting strong. I am a firm believer that Ryusui is top #1 latina lover, like this guy desires everyone but when he senses a latina things are different. He factually knows basic spanish and will be flirting using his skills. What I mean by this is that he will be calling you mami💀. He met you while he was traveling and since then he has been obsessed with you. His uncle doesn't like you and unusually Ryusui feels like throwing hands because of it.

"Ryusui Nanami did you have Francois cook for you again!?" You scold him once you see the butler standing in the kitchen. Oops, full government name, bad signal.

"That is their job mi amor." His pout can't save him. You drag him by the wrist to the kitchen.

"I see Francois here every day, I love them so much but I know they have their own life and their own desires, so I gave them the day off. Why the hell is then Francois here cooking for you? God forbid something happens to them, you will die of inanition." Ryusui listens with flaky resolution at your stern expression. Growing up he always found his way around orders, but he can't possibly defy you.

My god, he parades you around like a trophy, he brags to everyone that you have a beauty they can't even begin to comprehend. But it doesn't stop there, he is always talking about how smart you are, and how strong you are.

Regardless if you are bad at dancing or not, he considers you a prodigy and insist on taking classes himself so he can dance with you and not embarrass you. He is really good.

Gen:

I don't even know where to start. He is a little bizarre like that and will fall easily for you when you greet him with a kiss on the cheek. His brain can't function properly and he can't use his knowledge of the human mind on you. I can't ever picture Gen as dominant in any shape or form so he will agree with whatever you say. He wholeheartedly enjoys being bossed around.

"Gen Asagiri get here this instant!" You yell and he is already running to you.

"I'm so sorry love I promise whatever it is was unintentional, I did not mean it I am sorry." He is almost on his knees.

"You tricked Kinro and exchanged your workload with his, you apologize this instant." You point at him, he is afraid and nods but you can see the intention of twisting the situation around in his eyes. "Or no arroz con frijoles."

"No! Don't do that to me please! I will apologize right now..." Gen clings to you at the call of his favorite food only you can cook.

Ukyo:

You don't need to boss this man around, he is already perfect.

He loves listening to you, whether it is talking to him in Spanish, or when your accent slips in when you're talking Japanese or English, but his favorite moment of the day is when you sing to him, it doesn't matter if its reggaeton, salsa, bachata, cumbia, he absolutely loves it and will learn the lyrics to your favorite songs and sing along with you.

Ukyo loves how your fiery personality matches his calm demeanor, he feels like its the perfect balance,

Chrome:

MY GAWD THIS IS WILD. My brain is wired in such a way that I can't imagine him with someone that isn't Ruri but we will try.

For some reason, you were in Japan when you got petrified, and you were revived. Eventually when Chrome meets you, he is confused as hell, why do you look so different? He finds it beautiful. When you tell him of the landscapes of your country he will cry, and swears that he will go and explore with you.

"Maldita sea!" You curse when you hurt yourself when helping building the latest invention of the kingdom of science, it's a minor scratch and you tend to it fast. Chrome on the other hand, sits baffled.

"What was that!? Is she a sorcerer?" He runs to Senku.

"No idiot, that is Spanish, another language." Senku huffs.

Chrome insists on learning Spanish.

"How do you say 'thats bad' in Spanish?" He asks with his eyes glimmering.

"Que malote."

He says it in Spanish now.

Senku:

I am having a field trip with this one 🤑.

The stereotype of us latinas being bossy and having a strong character is lowkey so real. Initially he would be bothered by this, but eventually he gives in, sometimes it is true that you know better.

"Why is your family's Christmas celebration on the 24th?" Senku asks confused. You invited him back home for Christmas since Byakuya was training in NASA.

"We are staying up until 12 and celebrating, to open the gifts." You shake him. He rolls his eyes but will oblige.

"Mijo pass me that thing over there, la cosa esa." Your dad points and he has no idea what your dad wants him to hand over.

"It's just 3pm, why are you all dressed up? You better not spill food over your clothes, now go get the soda." Your mom complains. You of course drag along Senku, and he sees how lively the neighborhood is.

As it gets late, more and more family members will arrive, you introduce him as your boyfriend and they talk his ears off. He is baffled at how many people there are in the celebration.

Your family will pray and then get to eating, he stays silent during the prayer and eats. Everything he has eaten before in his life is literally trash compared to your mom's cooking.

At 12, the fireworks start to go off and everyone hugs each other, you will hug him and he corresponds after he realizes he was the first person you hugged. Everyone opens the gifts and he feels so warm at how nice everyone is.

After that, he plays video games with your cousins, eats more, drinks upon the uncles' requests, and finally, falls asleep on two chairs at 4am as everyone is still dancing.

Stanley:

This is latina lover #2.

You are the annoying high school couple omg. After years together he knows Spanish but his accent is so heavy, you always make fun of him, he would also be conjugating things wrong. "¿Donde estas tu? Ya llegue a el casa y yo no te encontrar."

"Pfttt, ¿el casa?" You mock him through the phone.

Your family 100% calls him gringo. He doesn't care.

The chances of Stanley messing up in his work are almost impossible, but during the times that he has almost messed up, he thinks of you; not in a cutesy way.

"Listen to me Stanley Snyder, if you are going through with this soldier thing, you will be careful, you will come home in a piece, you will make sure nothing happens to you, because if it does... trust me, bad things will happen, if you die I will revive you myself, torture you, kill you and revive you again only because I would miss you. But believe me, whatever miserable hell you might go through doesn't compare to my tortures. Do you want to see some other guy consoling me after you die? Think wisely, and act accordingly."

Xeno:

Bro is that one American who is fluent in Spanish just by osmosis. His pronunciation is flawless, conjugation is perfect, accent is minimal.

There are greater goods, greater evils. He is evil, but you are a greater evil. He will be so happy when he realizes you are also evil.

Your elegance is on another level, even in moments when you are technically not elegant, he will always find something so stunning and perfect about you.

A total gentleman. He is somewhat surprised that you corresponded his feelings because he saw you so out of his league.

"Xeno, I don't want you coming home at 11pm a single day more, if you get here later than 8pm, you will find your bags on the doorstep." You scold him after he gets home late from work.

"I am really sorry princesa, I will do better and make it up to you."

And he does.

[sillyjpeg]

BOOK OF BILL WEBSITE CHANGE

this contains MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE WEBSITE CHANGE. if you want to find shit urself, dont read this!!!

also this is part one of probably many bc i cant fit everything in here. curse you image limit

i wont be going over alot of the not as important stuff, but still go explore the website for it because i got alot of good laughs!

RIGHT OFF THE BAT. In the top right corner of the screen when the lightning flashes, there are words revealed carved in the wall. it reads: VALLIS CINERIS. when this is typed into the computer it gives this video:

haunting. really giving me analog horror vibes. wasnt sure what else to do with this though.

I also noticed that on the candle in the right side of the desk, there is a code

this is decoded used the rune code, and translates into CURSED. when put into the computer, this is what is given back:

interesting.

One of the first things me and my friends did was go through the main characters names. the most interesting one of these for me is definitely Stanley, but i want to go over Pacifica first because Stanleys is LONG.

When you type in Pacifica you get this:

I love her signature btw. BUT if you type in Platinum Paz, you get somethin very, very interesting.

This may not be in the right order so forgive me, but at the end of that code, if you use a shift decoder (im so smart sue me)

it says: "STAY AWAY FROM HER CIPHER. SHE HAS THE PROTECTION OF THE LUMBERFOLKS SPIRITS"

pacificas character development has always been special to me, and this was honestly chilling. in the book of bill we see that she has nightmares about the lumberjack, and this shows how much guilt she carries. her finally finding her peace with what happened made me smile :)

but as nice and heartwarming as this is, were moving on to STANLEY PINES! and oh BOY are the stanley lovers having a field day. so first of all, if you type in Stanley, it will take you to a few different links. including gold chains, brass knuckles, an 8 ball cane, a fez, and a colonel neck tie. funny right? if you keep entering his name, this pops up:

Below this is a bunch of things with the label of being shameful. one of them is very interesting but im gonna put some lighter stuff first for the sillies.

i need alex to show us the photos from the hunky drifters catalogue alex can you hear me please i mean WHO SAID THATTTT WHO SAID THATTTTTT

ALSO NO ONE COMING TO HIS FAKE FUNERAL EXCEPT HIS MOM :( she loved her little free spirit stanley

ALSO- him stripping for flour in Tijuana, again, i need photographic evidence.

his ex wives list also made me giggle. he was MARRIED TO OLD GOLDIE????? also Marilyn being Eda made me giggle, i love the fact that they got married at some point. get them back together please. also stan having smaller hands than ford and being self-conscious about it stan i love you mwah mwah mwah

ALSO FILBRICK TRYING TO SELL STAN FOR GETTIN AN F- PLEASE

anyways now onto the section at the bottom of the Wheel of Shame page!

Its titled : HOW HE BEAT ME. im not adding a photo bc ur guy is running out of room :(

you have to click on this repeatedly to get anything good out of it, so i took the liberty of milking it for all it had!!! i didnt take screenshots of everything because some of it was redundant, but here are the interesting and or funny bits:

just reiterating, this is not all thats in there, im just putting parts that stood out to me. please take the time to go through all this urself bc its a TREAT.

now into the crazier stuff

hes obviously having some sort of breakdown, just like we see at the end of the book of bill. the last page i decoded myself, and i got this using all the different decoders:

"THROUGH LQS SFSE CN EVERYONE IVE EVER"

for "LQS SFSE CN" i used the original bill cipher code, and im not sure why it gave me this. a smarter, better decoder probably has the answer.

i can theorize a few different things on what this could possibly mean even with it not being all decoded. the one that comes to mind is "I can still see through everyone ive ever met" maybe knowing too much? but without the middle part decoded i cant say much. if you have the solution for this please leave a comment as any help would be greatly appreciated. this all did drop a few hours ago so i doubt many people are working on decoding all this.

UPDATE!! I TRANSLATED IT WRONG.

IT SAYS “THROUGH THE EYES OF EVERYONE IVE EVER”

this makes alot more sense. bill can see through others eyes so it most likely is refering too how he possesses people and sees through their eyes. In the book of bill he shows how angry he is having to watch the Pines family be happy.

It says that when he closes his eye, he can still see through the eyes of everyone hes ever…possesed? probably. So can Bill still see through Ford, or maybe Dipper, and he cant turn it off. Whenever he closes his eyes he is haunted by the happy life he failed to destroy. To see through their eyes.

This poem using gambling as a way to describe Stan's life choices really struck me. the more i thought on it the more it made sense. he gambled that Ford's project would probably still work, gambled with all of his sham products. His entire life has been a betting game. The most interesting thing about all this is the end of the poem. It reads

"IM STILL ON YOUR MIND"

this has been a theory for awhile in the gravity falls community that if stan got back all his memories, including ones about bill, wouldnt bill come back? for me this confirms the theory, and opens up a whole new can of worms which i will talk about later.

I have reached my image and video limit, but expect more posts!

stay weird yall :)

[ceaselesswatchersspecialboy]

Okay here we go

Does Stanfraud's eye still bleeds, like when Bill was possessing Ford or doesn't because of his bigger connection to Ford's body?

Is Stanfraud an uncle/big brother figure to Soos, like Stanley is his dad figure? Does Bill even care about him even a little😢

I know that the main focus of this au is on Bill, but since Stanley didn't try to pretend to be Ford, how did Stanley's and Filbrick's first meeting went after the whole "getting kicked out" thing"? Especially since both Stan and Ford were definitely broke at the time

You mentioned that Bill still has access to a little portion of his powers, what are they exactly?

Anyway your au is genuinely awesome and seeing it on my dash is always a huge treat 💛💛💛

Okay the first question I really want to answer because I’ve been thinking about this:

— His eye definitely bleeds on occasion. Even though he is far more connected to Ford’s body here, he’s still a demon possessing a host. He shouldn’t be there. There’s some outer force keeping him trapped. So I have thought about the fact there would probably be some lasting impacts on the body due to possession exposure for so long, such as the eye bleeding becoming a regular problem and gradual loss of vision in that eye. There may also be other physical impacts, but I’ll work on those when I manage to get down an official design for him.

— Great News! He is like Soos’ weird uncle! That may be where he learned to be somewhat decent around kids, honestly. He absolutely tried to mess with him at first, make jabs, tell him the date of his death, attempt to drive him to madness just a little (this is why Stan had to get rid of the last handyman), but Soos proved to be incorruptible and took all of Stanfraud’s weirdness in stride. Bill does end up caring about him. He goes as far as to liking their conversations. Soos keeps up with his chaos! Even Bill isn’t sure what’s going on in that head of his (when he gets his own body back he’s going to find out).

— Though Bill is the main focus of the plot-change, the other aspects are equally as important and so I’m glad they also have people’s interest! Their first meeting is… tense, to say the least. If Filbrick has any regrets, which I think I’ll leave up to interpretation, he’s far too stubborn a man to show them, and would rather dig himself further into a hole than admit he made a mistake. Stan desperately just wants to ignore all the scathing comments and get this little reunion over with, until Filbrick makes a comment about Ford, then Stan snaps. You can insult him, he probably deserves it, but not his brother. Sure, they may not be his brother right now, but the intent is there, and that’s what counts.

It cuts everything short, with Stan grabbing Fraud and telling him they’re leaving (He doesn’t complain).

With Filbrick, I do kind of want to explore their dynamic over the years while he’s still alive, especially with Stan, but also with how he’d treat ‘Ford’ and his odder behaviour. I don’t want to just make Filbrick a one-dimensional character though, as I think there’s a lot to be said about the cycle of abuse and parental projection so. While the AU may be based around the question ‘what if Bill got stuck possessing Ford?’ The answers it has lead me down a lot of different paths to explore — such as this!

— The powers he has access too lessen over time, but currently he is somewhat capable of seeing potential future outcomes (ciphervoyance), pyrokinesis, telekinesis, faster healing factor and teleportation. Note that all of these are in a much weaker state and drain Ford’s body and by extension Bill heavily — especially teleportation. Doing that once can cause him to pass out, so it’s more of an emergency thing, most his abilities are honestly. Too much focus is required.

And I’m so happy to be a little treat on your dash!! I hope you enjoy all this just as much!

[bbuzz28]

So, I often see people saying the elder Pines twins grew up in a city and like...no. No, these fellas did not grow up in the city-at least not like a city most of you would know. Growing up along the New Jersey coast is unlike any other place in the world.

Glass Shard Beach isn’t "officially" (that I have been able to find) based off any specific real-life seaside town in New Jersey, but I’ve seen everywhere from Cape May, Atlantic City or all the way up the coast to Asbury Park being cited as possible locations.

I think Glass Shard Beach would fall somewhere in between on one of New Jersey’s inlets or tiny islands-like the one I grew up on (am I drawing personal comparisons to characters I enjoy? What, are you a cop? Let me have this).

It's almost like time stood still on the island where I spent my formative years; most of the original houses were built around the 50's/60's or older. We had a rinky-dink boardwalk off in the distance, tiny shops on Main Street that “Pines Pawns” would fit in nicely besides, a school, a tiny library and of course the beach. There's a small grocery that moonlights as a pharmacy and also a deli-anything else you wanted you would have to go off the island for. There are two pizza shops that had a fun rivalry, an ice cream stand that makes all their wares and an odd attraction that is the only notable thing "putting it on the map", so to speak. Mostly, unless it was the summer when the tourists appear out of thin air, it was a sleepy little place where not a lot happened.

The perfect place to get lost along the shoreline searching for buried treasure. We didn't have any official shipwrecks to speak of, but there were several sunken skiffs that could be seen from certain spots in the bay. Sinking cages down for crabs along the rocks or fishing standing off a pier. I used to be able to lay in the middle of my street for long stretches of time because I could count how many cars I would see in a day (the antithesis of my life in the city).

I loved my childhood there-but it was isolating at times. Unless it was the summer, it was mostly just me entertaining myself. Exploring rocks along the shore, swinging on the singular swing set in the park, spending hours in the library reading. Sound familiar? I can absolutely see the boys growing up similarly.

I can hear the "oh, but Stanley is so street smart."

First of all, street smarts are a learned behavior sure, but we really only have the aftermath of him relying on his street smarts. Do I believe Caryn/ Filbrick taught him a thing or two in terms of how to catch a con? Yes, of course (he grew up in a pawn shop and his mother lies for a living). But you will never convince me that the naive and freshly kicked out of the house teenage boy, combing the beach for treasure with a metal detector seen in ATOTS, is an example of having an amazing set of already well-tuned street smarts.

Second, I am not saying Glass Shard Beach was as idyllic as my childhood home. I mean, glass shards aren't exactly pleasant. It's supposed to be a little gruff. There's definitely petty crime (i.e. purse snatching), vandalism etc. It's definitely a bigger area logistically (they had a diner and a movie theater? snazzzzzzzzzy) but still small enough that two children could scoot around town easily on hijink adventures. And small enough that Ford would know that people would remember him and hail him a "hero" after his "Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness" research made him a science star.

I am just saying their childhood in Glass Shard Beach was a different experience than growing up in say, New York-or any other "big city."

[fordpinesthemanyouare]

Ford x Fem!Reader

Math Assistant Pt.3

Summary: Ford needs himself an assistant, Stanley makes an online post for him and BOOM there you are. Warnings: Age gap... but that's what you're here for me thinks A/N: Wanted to get this up before I leave for vacation, still serving nothing sandwiches but HEY were getting somewhere huh? I need that six fingered freak dude, like... it's so bad that I had to bring it up in therapy. Tags <3: @potato-painter

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Her car followed behind the red El Diablo that had picked Stanford up from the diner as she was returning to her car. She saw another older man in the driver seat who she assumed must have been the twin brother Stanford mentioned. She didn't get a good look at the driver before she got inside her own car, the late spring sun making its descent over the looming trees turning the sky a deep orange. Had she and Stanford really been talking for that long? The shining red car turned out of the diner parking lot, and y/n followed suit, rolling down her windows and turning up the volume to the music she had been listening to on the long drive to this desolate town. Before leaving the diner together, Stanford had told her to just follow in his car and he would lead them to where she would be spending the next few months. 

Bumping her head along to the music as she drove down the two lane road, her mind began to wonder what her time here in Gravity Falls would look like. She had always been in the lab or classroom working on ever growing math equations for most of her adult life, but she always felt a deep connection to nature, specifically Oregon’s natural woods. Since moving here to complete her schooling she loved the natural aura these woods produced, and now here she was, completely surrounded with the strong trees, she couldn't have felt more at peace. The completion of her master’s was long and grueling work that kept her away from exploring the woods, and being a thirty year old completing another degree, there was not much time for camping. Y/n had a tendency to become completely involved with her work very quickly, locking herself in the apartment she was renting near campus for days without anybody seeing her (not unlike someone else we know).  

The El Diablo turned onto a dirt road into the woods, the lights from the main road fell behind them as they continued their way into the ever growing dark forest. The two pairs of headlights were the only lumination on the long road, and the lights highlighted the seemingly eerie pointed signs nailed to the trees along the road with large question marks hand painted over them. She couldn't help but take in the amount of trees that were covered in these signs, she suddenly felt very nervous about the situation the car was lurching towards. She still had no idea what to expect, even with the long conversation Stanford and her had just been having, and arriving while it was quickly turning dark might not have been the best idea for her nerves. She breathed in through her nose, and out of her mouth to attempt to drown the anxiety brewing in the pit of her stomach as they pulled up to a lone… shack? Cabin? Store? The lights around the establishment lit the area up better for her to read the sign on the side of the building: “Mystery (S) hack”. The ‘S’ of the sign had fallen on the side of the roof; she noticed it now read ‘Mystery Hack’ and smiled a little, as the two cars pulled closer to the side of the house to park. They certainly weren't wrong about having a parking lot in front of their… home? She was certainly confused and was in thought about what she was getting herself into as she turned the car off, rolled up the windows, and began to grab any loose items to put in her purse. 

A loud abrupt knock on the window caused her to gasp and jump in the driver's seat, turning to see what monster had scared her while she was so deep in thought. Her eyes met with Stanford’s… no someone who looked similar but different in the setting sun’s light. His frame was slightly bigger at the almost the same height Stanford is, but he was wearing a shirt that had a few buttons undone from the top revealing his broad and hairy chest; he had similar glasses to Ford as well. He was flashing her a toothy grin before speaking “Well are y’gonna come out and take a tour or what?” She just stared at him, her face flushed from the scare and her mouth opening and closing not unlike a fish from water. The man laughed at her, loud and heartily, before she could hear Stanford say slightly muffled from the windows “Stanley get away from her car please.” The man took a few paces back from the window, while holding his hands up in defense, chuckling still with a smile “I wasn’t even doing anything!” 

Her heart was still racing; she grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car into the dirt parking lot, feeling towered over by Stanford's twins’ stance. She smiled past her nerves and offered her hand, “Hi there, Im Y/n, you must be Stanford’s twin he mentioned”

He gave her a smirk and an eyebrow quirk at that before grabbing her hand in his large calloused one, shaking it he introduced himself as Stanley. His broad hand had completely engulfed hers as he spoke, “He was talking about me huh? Were you excited to meet me or something, doll?” Before she could stutter out a response, feeling her face heat up at the pet name he casually called her, Stanley looked at his brother who was walking towards them “Stanford? You really were trying to seem as serious as you can point-dexter, you should probably try to loosen up a bit with your new assistant.” 

Ford rolled his eyes at his brother as he stood to the side of them, she turned to see him stand beside them with a casual smirk on his face at his brother’s antics. “A cute look on him”, the thought flashed in her mind and she dismissed it as quickly as it came. This was her new boss, that she was going to be living with and working with! She reprimanded herself silently for thinking such thoughts all while still looking at him, still she couldn't stop even when Stanford began speaking, her eyes darting to his lips as they moved.

“I was attempting to maintain professionalism with my new assistant, some of us have to maintain a sense of decorum.” Ford looked at Y/n, he didn’t want her to feel like she was not welcomed from their brotherly bantering, but she was already staring up at him from her stance. “You can also call me Ford if you’d like, I do know we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few months.” She nodded at that and looked between the two brothers. She couldn't help but think they were handsome when the two of them were towering over her like this,  laughing and bantering with each other. Stanley snorted in response to Ford, before she could speak. 

“Ha! Decorum, that's just your fancy word for being stuck up, if you loosen up a bit Y/n might actually take a liking to you.” Stanley jabbed Ford with his elbow in his ribs as he said it and turned to her while looking her up and down now, and she felt like she was put in the hot seat from his gaze raking up and down her body as she leaned against the door to her car. Her face was still slightly red from the last comment he had made, but she didn't falter as she regained some composure. She said nonchalantly to Ford’s twin, “I would love to take that tour if you're still offering, I just have to grab some of my things.”She smirked back at Stanley’s gaze on hers as she turned to walk towards the trunk of her car, popping it open with her keys. She pulled out two large suitcases that looked like they were about ready to burst open, the two men looked towards her things and then waved her towards the shack not mentioning the state her luggage was in.

The trio walked up the steps of the porch as Y/n and Stanley locked their cars almost in unison, they looked at each other and laughed together at the uniform way the cars beeped together. Ford turned over his shoulder and saw Y/n’s beautiful laugh ring out as she looked at Stanley, he couldn't help but feel something pang deep in his chest but he continued onward toward the door ignoring the feeling before she could notice his glance back. They entered the house (shack? cabin? showroom??) and she marveled at all of the large displays that stared right back at her. She was even more confused as they shut the door behind her and flicked the lights on, detailing the displays that were previously shrouded with darkness. As she set her things down by the front door, the large sasquatch model parked in the corner immediately caught her eye and noticed the sign that pointed conveniently between the model sasquatch’s legs and read “Sas-crotch”. She huffed a laugh before looking at Ford, “Does this happen to be the lucrative project we're working on?” gesturing towards the sas-crotch with a grin. 

Ford’s cheeks started to burn a bit at his new assistant’s teasing question, feeling more embarrassed at how his home had now been turned into a tourist trap. He rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly before starting, “Ah yes, that is part of Stanley’s… exhibits he curates for tourists to come visit during the day. This room and two others are the only rooms where people could be walking through, and it’s separated from the rest of the house. Let me show you to your room.” He walked through the back door of the showroom as she lugged her two heavy suitcases through the room and down the hallway they entered. Stanley stayed behind, muttering something under his breath about not including him on the tour and making fun of his work. Even though she admired all of the strange things in the front room as they walked through, she marveled at the assortment of displays. They continued farther into the house, it became more evident that she was walking into a home as the freaky displays were left in the front showroom. Down the hall now, pictures hung on the wall of family members and the two brother’s, she quickly passed them following Ford, but made a note to look further into them later following Ford as he continued down the hall. 

He had led her into the kitchen, and Ford had made a point in his mind beforehand to make sure to show her where the coffee machine was. He couldn't help but note that she drank just about as much coffee as him (if not more), and he also made an additional mental note to buy extra coffee grounds the next time they went to the store. “Here is where the fuel is,” Ford said while tapping the top of the coffee maker with his palm. She giggled a little, nodding in agreement “Glad you showed me the night before we begin our work, I might have needed to run to that diner for coffee.” He smiled at her and continued on their small tour of the house, she was still awkwardly rolling the luggage through all parts of the house. 

The pair continued down another hall and up a small flight of stairs until they were stopped in front of a door, he pushed it open and what revealed was a storage closet with a deflated air mattress in one corner. The room couldn’t have been more than eight feet across, and in the opposite corner of the small bed was a desk and chair. The chair contained some folded sheets, blankets, and towels, but otherwise the room looked like nobody had been in it for a long time. There was one window above the bed that was paneled with various geometric shapes, the light in the room showed some light cobwebs in the corners. As Y/n entered the room with her luggage, Ford moved in the hall flicking on more lights in the house letting her get settled in the small room. 

“The bathroom is just across the hall for when you need it, whenever you're settled in tomorrow I can show you more of the house and where we will be working.” Ford approached, leaning on the open door frame of the storage closet/bedroom looking at the way she was taking in the room, and beginning to open up the too-filled luggage. As she knelt in front of the two suitcases on the floor unzipping them she said “I appreciate that, I always forget how tired driving makes me and this town really is in the middle of nowhere.” Y/n turned her head and looked up at Ford with a smile, taking in the sight before her. His hair seemed run through with his hands and his turtle neck sleeves were bunched up around his elbows showing off his broad forearms. She was trying her best not to ogle him, but he wasn’t responding to her statement and just looking right back at her. Their gazes met each other for a few seconds, both just staring at each other through the silence, before Ford realized it was his turn to speak. He cleared his throat as his cheeks dusted pink and brought his hand behind his neck to rub it again, “Y-yes, I’m sure you're tired after a long day today, we'll meet together tomorrow to get started on everything” He turned to walk down the stairs before Y/n gave a half shouted “Wait!”. He stopped and walked the two paces back to the door, where Y/n was standing now in the room. 

“T-thank you Ford, I appreciate you getting me set up here and showing me around, especially that coffee machine.” She suddenly felt a little awkward stopping him just so she could stutter out a thanks, her face grew warm and the pit of her stomach seemed to fill her nerves with anxiety. Ford looked at Y/n again, drinking in her beauty as she was standing there thanking him. He could barely register her words before he smiled again at her, taking one last discreet view of her full body since she was now standing, he nodded. “Of course, I’m hoping we'll be able to make further progress than I have made, now with your help.” At that, he walked from the doorway feeling his sweaty hands finally begin to make their way to just being clammy, once he was half way down the stairs away from her. Once she was left in the room alone with Ford’s footsteps thudding down the stairs towards the kitchen, she let out a breath of air she didn’t realize she had been holding. Turning back to continue unpacking a little bit, grabbing some items for a shower she desperately needed to clear her impure thoughts of the man that just stood in her doorway. 

Downstairs, Ford was deep in thought on why his body was reacting this way as he headed back to the kitchen, leaving Y/n to finish getting settled for the night. He understood that yes, his assistant just so happened to be absolutely stunning, but what he couldn’t understand is that although the interview had opened her up a bit more to him, how could he still be nervous at this point? The two of them had shared several hours together at the diner talking about work and studies, they both had many similar interests and passions for learning and he felt that she was almost too perfect for this situation. As his mind fell deeper and deeper into overthinking the whole situation at hand, Stanley walked into the kitchen to see Ford braced over the counter, his six fingered hands gripping onto the lip of the counter as if it was the only thing tethering him to reality. Stanley cleared his throat and Ford jumped slightly before turning around to face his brother, his mind previously occupied with thoughts of his new assistant. Ford’s face was a bit flushed as he looked at Stan full on now either from his thoughts previously or because Stan had now scared two different scientists within the same day. 

Stanley immediately noticed the flush spread on Ford’s nose and cheeks, if he had no context of what had been happening he would have figured he just scared his twin. Alas, Stanley knew better than to assume he was flustered because he walked into the kitchen and scared him a bit, he knew that something had just happened while the two were touring the house. The shower upstairs distantly turned on, letting both men in the kitchen know you were now completely out of earshot, a shit eating grin pulled on Stan’s lips. Ford preemptively shook his head in disagreement before Stan had even begun speaking, which caused Stan to laugh. 

“I knew I shoulda’ kept her resume from you” He laughed again looking at Ford’s now raised eyebrows at his claim, before continuing, “What? I figured you would be able to maintain, hm, what word did you use earlier? ‘Decorum’ what a load of shit, have you seen her? What happened up there to make you turn this red?”. It had been a long time since Stanley had seen his brother flustered at all, let alone because of an attractive person. That last thought to himself left him feeling a twinge of sadness in his chest. His brother had been gone for so long and had barely had any time to experience a meaningful romantic relationship, at least that he was aware of. Not that Stan wasn't checking out the new assistant earlier by the cars, and he may have been a little charmed at their unison car locking. However Stan wasn't stupid, he had certainly noticed the glances Y/n stole from his twin in the short time the three of them were together. She would look at his jaw or his hands for just a second too long, a second too long for Stan to notice the little hints before Y/n and Ford left to tour the rest of the house without him. 

“Absolutely nothing happened Stanley, I showed Y/n to her room and that was it. She mentioned that she was tired, so I politely took my leave. I am not sure what you are insinuating here Stanley, but whatever it is, it isn’t happening.” Ford’s poker face regarding his heart, definitely needed work, his blush deepened in his cheeks and his eyes couldn’t meet his twins’. Ford seemed to look at anything in the kitchen other than his brother’s incredulous stare, he began organizing the pile of papers on the kitchen table as he almost waited for Stan’s rebuttal. 

Stanley almost laughed at Ford’s feeble attempts at playing stupid, but he figured he wouldn’t pry on Ford especially with how he looked when he walked into the kitchen, as if he was in the middle of solving the world’s hardest equation. “If you wanna leave it at that, then I won’t make you talk” Stanley turned to leave Ford once again, figuring it was time to hit the hay anyways. He mumbled a goodnight to Ford before heading towards his own room, Ford could barely share the same pleasantries before registering Stanley had in fact not broached further on the subject of his new assistant. Ford was quickly left alone with his thoughts again in the empty kitchen, hearing the water trickle in the distant shower upstairs reminding him once again of the time that was yet to be spent together in the lab. 

He stood in the kitchen for a moment thinking over how Stanley had entirely dropped the teasing conversation, and frankly, it seemed like Stanley knew what he was doing by deliberately not asking. Ford groaned at the thought, bringing his hand up to his face to rub the bridge of his nose under his glasses in slight annoyance. He realized it wasn't far out from when everyone typically goes to bed, so he began to head for the basement when he stopped in his tracks when the distant running water stopped in the shower upstairs. Ford’s mind raced for a moment, running through the different courses of action. Should he head upstairs to make sure that you are all settled for the night, or should he continue to the basement for the night letting her get settled in by herself? He was almost paralyzed in thought as his heart continued to beat faster than before in his chest. 

Ford made his decision as he heard the bathroom door distantly open, as he pulled the vending machine door into its hinges and shut it closed behind him. 

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[novemberdrift]

'𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩'| colby brock x male oc

a/n: enjoy ;) summary: sam, colby, corey and jake plan to go to the witches forest, little do they know, they’ll meet a friend of jennifers. he’s a lonely medium studying witchcraft, what happens when colby starts to feel a pull towards him? his feelings confuse him, and make him question himself. 

words: 8.8k (TOO FUCKING MANY, i got lost in the sauce🫠)

sam sat on his couch, dialing the number of the woman him and colby met at the stanley hotel. the latter began to film as she picked up. 

“hello?”

“hi is this jennifer?” they shared a look towards eachother, acknowledging the awkwardness.

“yes, this is she.” 

“sweet uh.. about that forest, was that a legit offer? colby and i have been talking over the past few weeks and maybe.. are you in la now?” he asked, curiously.

“yeah i am”

“cool so maybe tomorrow or later this week we could meet up, and we’d probably be filming it so if that’s cool with you, you could tell us more like about what the forest is and then maybe like find time to schedule to go out there or something?”

“yeah we can meet up.” jennifer said ominously. 

“okay cool, maybe tomorrow we’ll schedule a time then.” sam started to laugh from the awkwardness, and immediately after the phone call was over he threw the phone onto the table and freaked out. “why is it so awkward?” he cringed.

“everytime we talk to her.” colby chuckles.

they both start talking to the camera about their plans with the witches forest, and planning a whereabouts for the meetup. 

a day had past, and sam, colby and jake were in the car, driving to the area where they were supposed to meet up with jennifer. colby had parked very close to another car in attempts to not be in the way of someones driveway. “can’t park in this driveway brother, gonna get a ticket.”

“can’t go to jail again.” sam laughs.

“we’re in a neighborhood, it’s not that sketchy.” sam commented, as they all start talking about how creepy this whole situation was, joking about getting murdered. 

they walk into the park, and they look around until they see two people sitting at a park bench. “hey!” sam calls out, as he sees them. “nice to see you again!” he goes in for a hug with jennifer. 

“how was the shoot and everything?” he asked.

“it was good.” she responded, nodding her head, before looking over to her friend, the guy next to her. jennifer didn’t really care about meeting up with strangers but elias, found it sketchy, so he decided to come along as some sort of backup.

“hey, i’m elias, good to meet you.” he shook hands with the person closest to him, colby. 

“nice to meet you too.” colby smiled, curious about the guy infront of him. he looked pretty cool, his sense in fashion was definitely something out of a vintage movie. his hair was dark brown, about medium length. he had brown circle glasses pushed towards his nose, contrasting his freckled face. 

from what he was wearing, you could see a few tattoos under his sleeves, along with a few different ear piercings. ‘damn this guy is cool’ he felt like some kind of fangirl.

as sam talked to jennifer, colby starting asking questions to the other. “are you also into the paranormal?”

“yeah. i grew up around it my entire life, and now it just seeks me out i guess.” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “how’d you get into it?”

“that’s the same as one of my friends, corey.” he acknowledges. “honestly it’s not that exciting, me and my buddy sam would explore like abandoned places and stuff then it became haunted areas and now we think we’re haunted.”

“that’s cool.” suddenly jake climbs onto the picnic table, creating a thud sound. “jesus jake.” colby laughed.

“so do you guys chill at the park often?” jake tries to make conversation with the two.

“yeah.” they answer at the same time. the camera is held facing jennifer as she begins to explain why the cabin is haunted, and why it’s called the witches forest. 

“you really have to figure it out yourself.” elias commented, chuckling. 

“so you’ve been there too?” sam interrogates him. 

“you could say that, i also own a cabin about a mile out.”

“would you say it’s haunted?”

“oh definitely, in 1946 a couple moved into the cabin and after a few years they started like experiencing financial issues, and it caused a lot of stress between them and eventually the husband started drinking, and one night he killed his pregnant wife before shooting himself in the head.” elias smirked, watching their jaws drop. “let’s just say i’m not legally able to rent it out anymore because of what happened to the last guests we had.”

“holy shit.” sam looked to the guys, with wide eyes. 

“that’s actually insane.” colby said, rubbing his eye. “so do you live there or just use it as a vacation spot?”

“bit of both honestly, the spirits don’t bother me much. i was just there a few days ago and i stayed about three months, left with tons of scratches and stuff.” elias explained.

“do you still have visible marks?” 

“yeah, the longest one is on my leg, i can show you if you like.” the guys nodded, so he stands up and props his leg on the park bench, before rolling up his black pants. quickly a red shiny scratch is visible. it starts at his ankle and goes underneath his thigh. “it’s one of the weirder marks i’ve gotten. it’s shiny and feels almost like a burn, like blistered over and stuff.”

“holy shit, that’s crazy.” jake muttered.

“i don’t know if we should do this anymore.” colby laughs, jokingly crying.

“so on a scale of one to ten, how is this a good idea or are we going to die.” sam wondered.

“let’s just say it’s scarier then the stanley hotel.” jennifer answered.

“is that the key?” jake zooms into colby holding the key to the cabin. colby pauses for a second, having an idea. “would you let us see your cabin?” he asks to elias.

“uhh, i don’t know, i would have to be there to supervise.” “not just because i don’t know you, but also for you’re protection. the spirits know me well, even the negative ones, they don’t like other people.”

“jesus.” colby mumbles. “is that why you can’t rent it out anymore.” he nods slowly.

“we have a friend out there that we met from the summer camp thing. a few of them are still there. elias can probably get in contact with one of them to help you out. since they’re both wiccans.”

“so you’re friend is a... wait you’re a wiccan?” sam asks towards elias, pointing the camera in his direction, receiving a half nod. 

“after i became a medium it slowly transitioned into exploring witchcraft, i wouldn’t like 100% consider myself a wiccan but i do partake in that stuff.” he holds up his pagan necklace. 

“wow, so does your friend live around the cabin?” 

“yeah.” 

“now i see why it’s called witches forest.” sam laughed hesitantly. 

“so a lot of people there are wiccans i’m assuming?” colby asks, before receiving a nod. “witches forest, wiccans.” he does a weird voice to express how crazy this situation is.

“this is awesome, thank you so much for this, we would probably just of done another hotel video.” sam thanked her. “should we call corey?” he asks to the guys.

everyone begins to say goodbye, colby hugging jennifer and elias. “we’ll let you know how it goes.”

“but uh, i just wanted to say, i haven’t been there in awhile so be careful.” jennifer calls out to them.

jennifer and elias start walking back to their apartment. he glances towards the group they had just encountered. “they seem cool, colby’s pretty nice.”

“yeah i guess. i’m surprised you didn’t give them the key.”

“first, they’re strangers, second, they seem like novices, i don’t want their deaths to be on my hands.” elias joked.

“you could’ve gone with them.” she shrugs. elias pauses for a moment, thinking about it. maybe he should. they are trying to find the most haunted areas.. 

“i’ll think about it.”

it was early morning of the next day, and elias had been messaging with colby since he woke up talking about whether or not he should go up with them. colby has been trying to persuade him, borderline begging him to come. they think it would be awesome for the video and their paranormal experience. 

and secretly colby just wants to get to know him as well.

the four boys were in their car, on the way to the first house, to talk to a wiccan who is offering a reading, and more information on the witches forest.

“i was thinking about what the physic said a lot last night, about how corey and i are in danger, and i think they could be right. i hope we have service because we’ve never been in this forest, who knows, like what if we get lost right? that’s why i think bringing elias, who knows the area could be helpful.”

“honestly yeah, and he seems like a cool dude so.” jake shrugs, agreeing with the idea. corey then calls and agrees to come, making everyone so much more relieved. 

“let’s just act like we’re going to a cabin in the woods.” corey says, trying to lighten the mood as he gets into the car.  

they keep on driving, about twenty minutes out, pulling over only to get jake some food because he kept complaining about being hungry. they pull into a burger king, and grab some food. colby suggests sitting at a table so he can fill both corey and the viewers in about elias and the other wiccan.

“just to catch everyone up, we got some food and we are ten minutes away from the forest!” sam starts it off.

“i’ve been texting with both this wiccan and elias, who agreed on meeting us, but they want to meet us at her house. she was just like ‘yeah swing by, and i’ll show you my tarot cards and stuff.’” 

“well, let’s hope we don’t die.”

they walk out to the parking lot, and talk a bit more, explaining to corey. “me, colby, and jake met up with jennifer and this new guy, elias, so the reason why he’s texting to this random wiccan is because they’re friends, them two would meet up with her at summer camp, and she’s going to tell us about the area.” sam said.

as they start driving, they encounter the fog of the mountains, and they struggle to see out the window.

“yeah, elias is going to be with the wiccan, so atleast it’s not like we’re by ourselves with a complete stranger.” colby mentioned.

“well we don’t really know him either.”

“better then completely alone though.” he shrugged, continuing to drive until google maps said he was at the correct address.

“so what have they told you?” sam asked. 

“nothing really, just gave us the address and said see you then.” colby explained, shutting the car door. they walked up to the door, not even having to knock before someone opened the door. “hey colby!” elias said, arm on the door. 

“yoo hey.” colby gave a hug before smiling. “thanks for taking up our offer on this, having you here and talk about some of the stuff is super great for the video.” 

colby felt nervous, seeing elias stand confidentially at the door, he looked more relaxed today, grey sweatpants, black hoodie and his usual brown glasses. you can tell he wasn’t planning on coming. 

in the light, it was much easier to see his face. he also realized elias’ hair was slightly curly. 

“yeah it’s no problem.” elias said as the other wiccan presented herself. “good to see you again.” 

“hey, how are you guys?” she asked. “wanna come in? if you don’t mind i’ll have to sage you though.”

“yeah it’s no problem.”

after the boys were saged, they sat around the table and began to talk about the witches forest. “so why is it called witches forest?” sam asked, getting down to business. 

“there’s a lot of rituals that go on in this area, it used to be a spot with mobsters, there’s a lot of satanic rituals, which aren’t as bad or evil as you would think.” elias nods along, agreeing with her. 

“so you guys would consider yourselves wiccans in the way that you both study witchcraft. 

“yes, i identify as a wiccan, but i feel like it has a different perception of what you would think.”

“okay so can you explain that to us.” sam asked.

“i like to live my life by the moon cycles, so full moon would be a time of like creativity and energy, where as new moon is more introspective and..” she trails off as the door opens for the second time. 

“we’re trying to spend the night here, in the forest. do you think that’s a good idea or bad idea?”

elias grimances, shaking his head. 

“what’s that supposed to mean?!” corey fake cries.

“a lot of people have died up there.. not recently so i don’t think you’ll die.” she says positively. “if you want we can do a little tarot reading.” she suggests, waving over elias to help her with it.

“tarot reading?” colby repeats asking for clarification. 

“tarot cards really tell you what you’re feeling subconsciously, and they help give insight into the past, your future, or the present. and basically however you relate to the card, it tells you what’s going on with your inner-self or stuff you may be doing.” he explains, before sageing the cards.

“this basically helps to detach anything thats holding onto the cards, so for example, the past readings she’s done, it’s possible that those readings could effect yours. so when i sage the cards, it clears anything on them.” he hands over the cards to colby, who passes them to sam, to jake and then to corey, to get their presence onto the cards.

she takes the cards and sets them onto the table. a few gasps come from the guys after seeing the death card, “none of these are bad, so don’t be afraid.”

“the tower is an iffy card in my opinion, so it means danger and destruction, it’s basically like a very sudden unforeseen change, which means you have to rebuild. it can lead to the next chapter of your life. so it starts out negative and eventually it leads to rebuilding which is positive.” elias explains.

“yeah and chaos isn’t always a bad thing, which relates to the death card.” she taps onto it. 

“the next chapter of my life is death?” sam asked.

“no.” elias answered shortly. “the death card will almost never mean death or represent anything like that. it’s typically more like the end of an era, so it implies new beginnings. it also is commonly known as the card that describes self awareness.” he was briefly interrupted by a bang upstairs.

“this card is all about fear and anxiety.” she points out. “but not a real fear, more like you’re worrying about something too much. like it’s in your head, like when you can’t sleep and you’re terrified but it’s not something that you should be worrying about. it’s more like you’re imagining something, like making up a problem.”

“like making conspiracy theories about yourself.” jake adds in, earning weird looks from colby and sam.

“just being scared of something that isn’t that big of a deal, like you’re more afraid then you need to be.” elias adds.

“that’s basically our group.” sam comments.

they talked more about the different chapters of their life, corey refusing to do more tarot. she gave more advice on how to keep the guys safe at their campsite, like taking the sage, having a ring of salt and holding hands.

elias watches as they huddle into the corner of the room and talk about some of their plans together. “honestly guys, i don’t know if i can do this.” corey admits. “this shit is crazy, we don’t need more spirits trapped with us.”

“i think we just have to hurry up because it’s a few hours from sundown, and we don’t know the area too well, i don’t want us to get lost.” sam comments.

“do you think we should invite elias?” colby asked.

“brother, now why would we do that.” corey said, shaking his head.

“he knows the area, and i think he would be awesome for content, he can tell us more stories, we can get to know him and maybe do more ghost stuff with him in the future.” 

“i’m down.” jake shrugs.

“we don’t know him very well, but i do think he’d be beneficial for this.” sam doesn’t seem to care that much.

“okay well i won’t invite him if you guy’s arent sure.” they all to look corey. 

“fine, but i swear to god if he murders us, i’m going to murder you again.”

“okay awesome!” colby walks away from the guys and up to elias. “i was wondering if you wanted to come with us, like to our campsite.”

“oh. uhh, i mean i guess i could hang for a bit, but it would probably be weird to stay the night with you guys. my cabin isn’t too far away in the forest so i’ll go back there once you guys are settled in.”

“we’d be chill if you wanted to stay the night in a tent beside us or something, but it’s cool if not.”

“i’ll figure it out later.” he shrugs, and follows the guys to the car. elias sits in the passenger seat, sam giving it up to sit in the back, so he didn’t have to sit squished next to strangers.

they began to drive in the direction of witches forest, taking a right turn onto a gravel road. 

“so where do you suggest us staying the night exactly?” 

“well i would say definitely be near one of the main roads, so you’re near your car, but as in area, if you keep going down here, there’s some pretty flat ground with trees surrounding it.” elias points in the right direction.

they pull into a blank area, and start gathering their stuff. “just down this way.” he leads, while helping carrying one of their bags. 

“awesome, thank you.” sam thanks him, actually kind of surprised how much this stranger was helping them.

“do you need help setting up your tent, or?” he wondered.

“uhh..” jake mumbled, knowing he’s never put up a tent in his life. 

“that is a possibility.” sam chuckles. ”so like, did you group up in california or elsewhere?” he took what colby said earlier, about getting to know him, and ran with it.

“oh uh, no i grew up in a small town out of seattle, but i moved to la when i was 17.” elias answered, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“oh cool. why’d you leave seattle?” jake asked.

“just bad memories i guess.” he took a deep breath. “the house i grew up in.. my brother he died there when i was 6. his death brought me into the paranormal world.”

“oh, i’m sorry for your loss.” colby commented, beginning to build the tent.

“don’t be.” elias laughed it off. “it was a pretty natural death, he was born with heart complications, honestly a miracle he lived till 14. he was very positive and i’m sure he wouldn’t want people mourning, so i choose not to i guess.”

“that’s a good way to look at it.” colby smiled at the other. colby took a liking to him, he wasn’t sure why though but it felt like something was pushing him to get to know him.

“so you said you’re a medium?” corey asked, helping colby with the tent.

“yeah, the thing with my brother, it guided me to other spirits and i just kind of fell into it all. i feel things more the most people, i hear more, i sense more.” he paused. “i don’t feel any presences here but i feel sadness and regret.”

“that’s honestly really cool, so to become a medium does it need to be something that happens to you or can you like learn and study to become one?” colby asked, setting up the camera on a camping chair, pointed to elias.

“in my opinion it has to come to you, you can’t work for it. if you are gifted with the ability you can learn and study to enhance it but you can’t force it.”

“the tent’s looking good.” corey nodded towards it. “but i swear to god i don’t want to sleep here.” he begs, making everyone laugh.

once everything was set up, and looking good, elias decided to leave. “i’ll probably head up to the cabin.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

“yo, you sure?” jake asks, actually wanting him to stay. in the past few hours they’ve all been vibing pretty hard.

“yeah no pressure to leave.” colby said, giving him a smile. 

“i don’t wanna intrude too much on your video or anything, but feel free to come to the cabin if you have any problems or something crazy happens. can’t promise staying at the cabin will be any better but still. i have wifi, hot water, beds, all that stuff so don’t be shy.” elias smiled back.

“alright, thank you.” sam nodded. 

“make sure to say goodbye before you leave though!” elias called out, as he walked away. 

“bye!” colby shouted.

“cya!” jake yelled.

“dude, you’re staring.” corey pointed out, laughing at his friend. colby turned to look at him, before rolling his eyes.

“shut up, i just think he’s cool.”

corey winked to sam and jake, them chuckling to eachother.

it was hours later, maybe 3 or 4, and elias was in his cabin, drinking a glass of wine, while reading one of the books from the old bookshelf. his days here were simple. he’d tend to the plants, garden, read some books and drink wine. he wish he had a more extroverted life, and would sometimes regret missing out on opportunities. such as hanging out with the guys back at the campsite. 

he wondered why he didn’t just stay, when they were clearly okay with him there, but he was still unfortunately a stranger. they were okay with him there, but they didn’t want him there. 

‘god i need friends’, he thought. he’s been so lonely, his only friend being jennifer, and they weren’t all that close anymore since he’s started studying witchcraft. elias has only had a few friends in his lifetime, people thinking he’s weird or abnormal for his interests and gifts, and he’s only been in one relationship which ended around 6 months. 

he honestly hasn’t felt that interested in people, elias finds them too generic, but he did take interest in the group. no matter how goofy they all seemed, they were cool. especially colby, he seemed to care the most. and he was kinda cute so that’s a plus. but he was probably straight.

he paused, hearing a bang upstairs, before sighing. his only friends are the spirits of the forest. he took his glasses off and gave them a rub, as they got a bit foggy. 

‘maybe a bath will ease my mind’ as he began to run a bath he heard a scream for help. his eyes widened at the voice, that was definitely colby. 

“help!” it was a gut-retching scream. elias turned off the bath, and as he was running to the front door, he turned the outside lights on, immediately lighting up the area. 

“colby?!” he called out, opening the door. 

“elias?!” suddenly, he came into view. “holy fuck, thank god.” he sighed, relieved. he rushed to the door. 

“what the hell happened out there? where is everyone?”

“i-i i got lost, i don’t know where i am, i was chasing after a shadow and i thought sam and jake were after me but i went in circles and i walked for so long it’s been like 15 minutes and i don’t know where they are.”

“woah, colby are you hurt?” elias reaches out to the others side, seeing a few smaller scratches. he gently touches them, earning a hiss out of colby.

“ouch.” he chuckles. “anyways, i really need help finding them, i don’t know what the fuck happened.”

“you said you saw a shadow figure? was it just a shadow or were there any visible descriptions?”

“just a shadow.” he shrugs, shivering a bit. 

“theres been a few people spotting shadows around here, a lot of people think one of the main shadows, it’s of a larger male and it’s predicted that it’s the spirit of the husband i told you guys about earlier, and that he’s stuck in this forest as punishment.”

“jesus.” colby exhales. 

“here, come in for a second, i’ll get you a heavier jacket and i’ll get a bandage for your side.”

“oh, thank you so much.” colby rubs his neck, awkwardly standing in the others home. “this cabin is actually beautiful.” he said, not expecting it.

“haha yeah, i take pride in it. nobody ever is here to see how gorgeous the wood and plants are.”

“oh why’s that?”

“i just don’t have many friends.” elias said, while grabbing a few items. “gets lonely up here.”

“hey well, you can consider us friends, i think you’re cool as hell.” colby smiles, taking the jacket, and putting it over his shoulder. “it would be awesome to have you come with us to other haunted places.”

“i-” elias was about to decline, before he thought for a minute. he knew he would regret declining. “sure, why not.” he gestured for colby to move his arm so he could wrap his side. 

“that should do it.” he gave him a pat on the shoulder. “now, we really have to get you back to your friends, they’re probably freaking out.”

“yeah.” colby agreed, rubbing his side. 

“do you mind if i spend the night with you guys? i have a feeling.. like i can feel something bad in your future, and i don’t think it’s safe for you guys alone.”

“oh god..” colby sighed, not ready for whatever he’s talking about. elias grabbed a few more things, and shoved it into a backpack. “it would be appreciated if you stayed with us.” he laughed it off, pretending he didn’t care too much, but he actually felt pretty nervous about the idea. 

he’s never really found guys that attractive or anything but something about elias, it wasn’t even his looks, something about his personality or dare he say ‘spirit’ was alluring. colby just needed to know more, needed to get close to him.

“okay, let’s go.” he said, turning off the house lights, and turning on his flashlight. 

they walked through the forest, trying to avoid all of the unnerving noises they heard. “thank you.” elias said quietly.

“what? why?”

“because, today has been the most social interaction i’ve had in awhile.” he chuckled. they continued to walk in peaceful silence, colby instinctively walking closer to elias. they smiled to eachother, elias having to look away and blush out of sight. ‘jesus, what is happening to me.’

they walked a bit more, and finally began to see bright lantern lights, similar to colby’s. “guys!” he shouted.

“no way, colby!” corey shouted, running straight to him out of relief.

“guys!”

“holy shit it’s colby!” 

“colby!”

“what the fuck happened to you.” sam shook his head. they all looked closer and saw another person. as they got closer they realized it was elias.

“holy shit.” corey exclaimed.

“are you okay bro?” jake asked.

“the shadow person, i kept chasing it, i saw it again. it ran so i ran after it, i ended up going in circles and i got lost so i started screaming for help and i saw a cabin, thank god it was elias’.

“did you hear the scream? it was like a female scream.” sam explained. 

colby went to sit in a chair, his side aching. “no i didn’t, i scratched my side though.” he lifted his shirt to show the bandage. 

“dude, me and jake saw like a baby or something small hung.” sam said.

“bro, i looked at it, and my first thought was that it was a baby hanging, it was swaying and everything.”

“wait.. you said you saw a baby hanging?” elias looked at them in pure shock. “holy fuck.. you saw her.” he mumbled.

“what?” sam asked, eyes wide.

“what the fuck is going on.” corey shouted.

“the.. the story i told you guys, about the husband killing his pregnant wife. a few people i rented the cabin out to, they would see shadows of a hanging dead baby outside the windows.”

“holy fuck!” corey screamed, jumping before walking a few steps away.

“that is fucking crazy.” jake exclaimed, holding onto his head.

“i can’t believe this.” sam held the camera, beginning to shake. “okay, a rule, we can’t separate again.”

they began to talk about what the shadow could’ve been, talking about the biker kids they had seen earlier in the day.

“it definitely was not a biker, you would’ve heard it a mile away, and nobody just goes for a walk in the middle of the night.” elias shakes his head in disbelief at the situation. 

“i’m not staying out here any longer.” jake says, running into the tent. everyone else begins to pack away their stuff, making sure that if they got scared again, they could leave without having to worry about their scattered belongings. 

sam pulls out the camera once everything is put away, and gives the viewers a quick update. “just a little update guys, we did clean up our entire campsite, and now we’re going to chill in here for a little bit, because we don’t know what’s out here.” he gestures inside the tent.

“is it alright if i stay here? i don’t feel like walking back to the cabin.” he asks.

“oh yeah of course.” sam practically invites him in. “you’ll just have to deal with our gross selves.”

“i think i’ll be fine, i was a babysitter for 3 years of my life.” he joked, earning laughs from everyone.

a small fight ensues about sleeping bags with the guys, and elias sits off to the side of the tent, not wanting to get too close and make anyone uncomfortable. he watches as colby pokes around at corey’s pocket. 

“brotherrrr, scared the fuck outta me.” corey cries out. “it’s either colby hitting on me again or a ghost.” elias laughed at that.

“i like to use shrek’s belly as a pillow.” jake mumbles, away from the drama.

a few minutes go by, and bugs in the tent frighten elias, while sam and colby start swatting at them before jake and corey talk about the white people face. elias, guilty of making that face more then once tonight.

the rest of the night was filled with fivesome jokes, jake playing with shrek into the camera, dance parties, sam touching more spiders in the tent, and colby trying to rest his eyes.

he originally laid near corey, between him and elias. he was resting on the end of his sleeping bag, feeling exhausted with the night so far. after another bug was squashed, they placed the camera back in the center of everyone.

elias was the closest to the camera, slightly out of frame, colby close by, corey leaning to the front, jake beside him, and sam on the other side also out of frame. “who keeps farting?” colby asked jokingly annoyed.

“yo what is that smell bro.” colby started cringing, holding his nose, causing everyone to laugh, corey the most.

“who farted dude?” jake commented about the smell looking towards sam.

“i don’t smell anything.” he shrugged carelessly, elias agreeing with him.

“yeah cause it was you!” 

“someone ripped ass, and it was me two minutes ago.” corey revealed, laughing like a madman. 

“my face was right by your asshole!” colby shouted, making a disgusted face to the camera before slowly shuffling away from the guy, and closer to elias. he dramatically collapsed onto elias’ leg and begged him not to do the same.

colby found his leg oddly comfortable, holding onto it like a pillow. he didn’t want to get too over the top and make elias uncomfortable, so tried to stay away from the boys lap.

then, it was back to jake putting shrek up to the camera, pretending to ring an imaginary doorbell. 

“look guys, stop recording if we’re actually going to fuck.” corey pulled his sleeping bag over his face.

“yeah i don’t wanna be on camera.” elias said, holding his hands up, making everyone snicker. it was kind of awesome how they could go from complete strangers, thinking eachother was creepy, to then making jokes like this.

speaking of jokes, everyone made comments about colby and how he was sleeping all cuddly on the other, and god was it unbearable. 

it was awkward, and uncomfortable but oddly enough, the friendly teasing felt better then being alone, so he dealt with it, and listened to corey’s little story about the boys and the shadowman. 

suddenly, noises started getting louder. exhales, footsteps, bangings. corey felt uncomfortable, and kept demanding to leave the tent. everyone paused, trying to listen to the surrounding sounds, sam hearing a car, and elias hearing thuds. 

“yo, should we just try to go to sleep?” colby asked, genuinely really tired.

“uh, no.” corey answered like it was obvious

elias felt the need to interrupt. “listen, the noises are obviously scary and whatever, but you need to understand that you guys are overthinking. think back to the tarot cards. you are scaring yourselves.” he tried to explain, as a way to calm them down.

it definitely didn’t work, corey hearing another exhale, and telling everyone to get out of the tent as a safety precaution. 

eventually everyone began to rush out of the tent, into darkness, sam screaming for someone to get a light. elias put on his glasses, and grabbed a flashlight, pointing it around the camp.

he heard rustling coming from a near bush and started walking up to it, he peeked around trying to find what the noise could’ve been. “elias, hurry up!” sam called, as everyone began running to the car. 

he caught up to them, not caring anymore and jumping in the back with jake and corey. “holy fuck.” he exhaled. “where are we going?”

“jennifer’s cabin.” corey replied, nodding at the idea.

sam’s phone started to ring as colby was driving on a tight road. “yo, yo, look!” he answered the call, everyone hearing absolute gibberish. it was random noises, deep exhales and other strange noises.

“that sounds like someone fucking with us.” colby stated, as sam talked about telling all his friends he was coming here.

“holy shit, i don’t think it’s someone pranking you guys.” elias stared, wide eyed at his phone before holding it up so everyone could see. 

“fuck.” jake muttered. “answer! answer!”

elias answered the call, putting it on speaker phone. the sounds coming from his call was much different from sam’s. these, sounded like chants, as if a huge group of people were shouting into the phone, cursing the boy. “guys, what the fuck is this.” he had experienced everything, but never has he gotten no caller id calls, with scary ass chants. “are you fucking with me right now?” he asked the group, tears welling in his eyes.

“no! no! of course not!” colby assured him. “we don’t do shit like that.”

he pulled into the driveway of jennifer’s cabin, immediately opening the doors and seeing the pouring rain. at the door, jake started shaking the water off of him, complaining about being wet.

quickly, elias could see sam was struggling. he was digging through his bag trying to find the key. he was beginning to panic, and everyone was starting to realize. 

“wait you don’t have the key?” corey questioned, getting nervous. “sam.” he sighed.

“was it in your pockets or the backpack?” colby asked.

“when do you remember last having it?” jake watched as sam patted his pockets.

“n-no i had it today, i showed the girl that jennifer gave me the key.” he defended. “here, just check the car, i swear, i have it.” 

“really try to remember, did you put it in your bag or your pockets?” colby kept pushing.

sam frantically looked around the car as the others judged him, complaining and blaming him for losing the key. “hey honestly sam, don’t worry about it, it’s just a mistake.” elias tried to reassure him everything was fine, only for corey to say something.

“i thought.. it’s either here or in the backpack.. unless is it in our bags? should we check the trunk?” everyone was freaking out, and elias stood there awkwardly watching. he felt bad for sam.. he could feel the sadness and guilt dripping off of him.

“we need this key. we can’t get in. dude jennifer trusted us with this key, you can’t-”

“is this the only key?” “sam, are you fucking serious, dude. i’m not trying to be rude, but first you lowkey lost colby, and now you don’t have the key. i’m just saying, this is why i don’t like doing this type of shit.” corey raised his voice. 

jake and corey agreed they didn’t want to go back to the tent, as colby kept filming. elias took a breath before saying excuse me and pulling sam to the side. 

sam looked confused, but his guilt was overtaking it. “what?” he looked at the other, wondering why he dragged him a few feet away. 

“dude, don’t listen to them, losing the key, like i said is a simple mistake, any of them could have done it, they’re not upset at you, they’re just upset at the cirumstances. but you’re forgetting i have a place just a few minutes away.” elias tried calming him down, seeing tears well in his eyes. he could tell sam wasn’t one that could deal with being yelled at.

“it’s not anything big, it’s a two bedroom with a pull out couch.” elias shrugged. “please just accept my offer, alright?” sam nodded, wiping any sort of water away from his eyes.

“thank you elias, really.” sam suddenly grabbed onto him, giving him a side hug. 

“no worries.” he smiled, leading him back to the car, before they explained the plan to the others. everyone could see the disappointment in sam’s eyes, as he sat quiet in the passenger seat. 

jake whispered to elias, about what happened out there, him shaking it off as to say it was private. he guides colby down the different roads, and in a few minutes they were outside his cabin. 

“here we are!” he welcomes them inside, turning all the lights on.

“shit this is nice.” corey nodded, jumping onto the couch. 

“woah woah, take your dirty ass boots off.” elias joked, watching as he threw them off in the direction of the door.

“thank you so much for having us here.” sam smiled, setting his bag down. 

“really, don’t worry about it, i’m glad you’re here and not outside.” elias took their stuff and organized it by the doors. “okay so, there’s two bedrooms, you guys can take those if you want, i don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

“hell no.” colby laughed, refusing to have him give up his own room in his own house.

“mkay whatever, someone can sleep in my room with me i guess, because trust me the couch is very uncomfortable to sleep on. plus the rooms are much safer. the living room is the scariest, you’ll hear the most shit out here.” he chuckled. “you guys can look around if you want, also feel free to eat anything you find, and use the wifi, passwords on the fridge.” he yawned. “i’m going the fuck to bed.” 

the guys chuckled, taking him up on that offer. 

for over half an hour, they decided to eat some of the snacks in his fridge, and taking crackers from the pantry. “god i was so hungry.” jake moaned into the leftover burger he was eating.

“okay guys, take it easy, we aren’t trying to raid their food.” colby snickered, watching as his friends ate like hungry rats. 

“yeah good point.” sam took a handful of crackers and put the box back. “should we talk about sleeping arrangements?”

“there’s no fucking way i’m sleeping on the couch or anywhere in the living room after what he said.” corey stated, heading into the direction of the guest bedroom. 

“yeahh, me neither.” jake followed after him.

“so.” colby shrugged. “do you care where you’re sleeping tonight?”

“not really, i’ve gotten to know elias pretty well so it doesn’t really matter to me.” the brunette squints at him. 

“what did you guy’s talk about?” he questions. 

“honestly, when he pulled me aside i was shocked. he like saw how overstimulated i was with the whole situation and he completely calmed me down, comforted me and everything.” he threw his arms as he was talking.

“yeah, i’m sorry about that, we were all just frustrated about the key.”

“don’t worry about it.” sam smiled. “are you and elias getting close? you were like all over him, sleeping back at the tent.” he was genuinely curious, considering he hasn’t seen his friend like this in awhile.

colby paused, thinking about everything that’s happened tonight. “honestly... i don’t know, it’s been really weird for me. i’m so confused with what im feeling.” he shook his head, so unsure.

“hm, i’ll go sleep with corey and jake.” they both nodded to that. “goodnight colby!” sam called out, walking in the same direction as the others did.

colby slowly approached elias’ room, pushing open the door gently. both bedside table lights were on, followed by a few candles around the room. he could see that the other boy was still awake. “oh hey.” he put down his book.

“hey elias. thought you were going to bed?”

“i was, heard some loud munchers in my kitchen though.” he giggled, as colby apologized. “no, honestly it’s okay, i was actually surprised how fast you guys decided to come to bed.”

elias yawned once more, stretching his arms out on the bed. “i can either sleep on the floor, make a little bed and shit, or if you’re cool i’ll just stay on the right of the bed.”

“literally don’t worry about it, not the first time i’m sleeping with a dude-” he paused, cutting himself off. “god that sounded bad.” he laughed, blushing with embarrassment. 

“wouldn’t be my first time either.” elias smirked, blowing a fake kiss before wheezing at their dumb jokes. 

colby moved closer, setting his personal backpack down and folding his jacket on the table. he shuffled towards the bed, and sat ontop of it. “i have no idea if i’m going to sleep tonight.” he sighed.

“that’s fair. it’s crazy out here. if you want we can just stay up and talk for awhile?”

“actually.. that would be nice.” colby rubbed the back of his neck. in was silent for a few seconds, him getting comfortable under the covers. “so..”

“how did you like the witches forest? scary enough for you guys?” the other asked, trying to start a good conversation.

“oh definitely one of the scariest places we’ve been to, like with the history of it and everything.”

“what other places have you been to?”

“uhh the stanley hotel, the biltmore, queen mary, cobb estate, griffin park, and we’ve explored so many creepy places, like morgues and abandoned hospitals.” colby explained.

“geez, no wonder you guys are haunted.” he laughs. 

“do you think we are? we joke about it but im genuinely curious if we are.”

elias thinks for a minute. “i don’t think you’re haunted. however, i can sense something with you. with you and corey. whatever is following you, is completely different then what is attached to corey. notice the different in words.” he points out. “i think you have gotten yourself into many negative situations, not just paranormal.” “would you consider yourself lonely, or sad?”

colby exhaled shakily. “yes, sometimes.”

“spirits love following people that are lonely, they find them to be like easy prey, vulnerable.” he emphasizes the last word. elias closes his eyes, really focusing on colby’s presence. “i think the spirit that is with you is also lonely. they are following along with you, because you are feeding into it, giving it attention. and that’s fine, but if you don’t want it with you, you have to make it clear.”

“is it friendly?” he asked.

“yes. it’s friendly. i can’t tell you where you picked this spirit up, but it’s positive, and enjoys your company. it will not hurt you-” he stops, feeling something float by him. “it will not hurt you, it doesn’t want to, that’s not it’s intent. infact, it wants to protect you. noises you might hear, when you go to a haunted area, it very well could be this spirit trying to assert dominance with other ones.”

“holy.” colby tried to calm his breathing. “this is crazy. as long as it’s friendly, then i welcome it.” “so, do you think corey’s ghost is like bad?”

“i wouldn’t say bad, but when i was sitting near him earlier, it isn’t as friendly as yours. it likes the fear that comes with scaring him, i’d even go as far as, it wants to scare him more, it wants to up it. and with that spirit challenging him, i am nervous for his health both physically and mentally.”

“jesus, i have to tell him that in the morning, he’ll probably freak.” he sighed. “it’s so cool how you can like sense this stuff, does it ever get overwhelming?”

“allll the time.” elias chuckles. “sometimes i can just be in a library back in la, and i’ll feel like some version of spirits and like all these weird emotions, and i have to leave.”

“wow i’m sorry that comes with such an amazing gift.”

“it’s okay, i feel at peace with it now. i think my brothers with me, helping me deal with it all. i think he realizes how alone i am, and has decided to follow me.” he laughs at himself. “sorry, sorry, let’s talk about something more fun.”

colby laughed along. “so do you have a girlfriend?” he wondered, making elias pause and blush lightly.

“no, i’m single.” “goes along with the loneliness, if you feel me.” he chuckled. “you?”

“same, it’s hard to date now that sam and i’s channel has blown up. a lot of people have tried to use me for like clout and stuff.” the other frowned at that, apologizing for his past experiences. “no, no it’s okay, i just hope i’ll find someone soon, i do feel you, it gets so lonely.” he fake cries.

elias sips his glass of wine, offering some to colby. “i’m a vodka and rum kinda guy.” 

and soon enough, the boys were drinking, gossiping to each other about absolutely everything. colby was a very talkative drunk it seemed. he was blabbing about his friends, girls, ghosts, anything. “so like, are you gay?” he asked.

elias spat out his wine back into the glass before turning to colby. “uh wow..” he rubbed the back of his neck. “where did that come from?”

“i-i don’t know.” colby admitted, trying to hide himself with the blanket. he really didn’t know why he asked, his weird confused feelings mixed with being drunk just made him ask, he was so curious.

“i’m bisexual.. how’d you know i was into men?” 

“i.. i didn’t.” colby mumbled into the blanket. he felt himself shaking, so nervous and anxious. he took a deep breath and exhaled aggressively before jolting up and looking right at elias. “i didn’t know you liked men but i think i do.” he rushed it out. 

“i’ve never felt anything for a guy before so i’m pretty freaked out right now and-d confused but i think i like you.” he rubs his eyes, embarrassed and uh pretty drunk.

“wait really?” he paused for a moment. ‘holy shit’ he thought. he never would have expected this, he just thought colby loved being physical with his friends from all the touches earlier in the night.

seeing that his confusing feelings were being reciprocated, it made elias the happiest he’s been in awhile. “dude, i feel the same way.”

colby stopped, completely still. both boys were completely shocked at each others confessions. 

“like i feel like i’ve known you for awhile.” elias commented.

“same.” he tried to think of what to say next, where to go from here. 

“hey.” the other touched his arm. “don’t get too nervous about this whole situation, we have plenty of time to get to know eachother, plenty of time for you to figure out everything you’re going through.” “don’t feel pressured into anything.”

colby thought for a few minutes. “thank you, i appreciate it.” “it’s.. it’s so weird feeling like this. ever since i was younger i’ve been so convinced that i’m straight, and now i’m getting all these feelings for you and it’s honestly making me scared. what if i do like you? does that mean i have to come out? tell my friends, family and viewers? what if i don’t and this is just a mistake?”

“you can.. or we can figure it out one step at a time.” elias smiled. “and by the way, never feel pressured to come out, it’s a personal and heavy thing to do.”

he shivered, tears threatening to spill. it was such a vulnerable moment for him. elias reached out to the boy, offering a hug. 

they shared a tight hug, elias rubbing his back out of comfort. 

their moment was interrupted by an incredibly loud bang, and three loud screams from the guys in the other room. “colby!” one of them shouted.

they pulled apart from their hug, just as the three barged into their room. “did you fucking hear that, bro?!” sam questioned, before looking at the people in front of him. he acknowledged how close they were, the slight tears in colby’s eyes,how intimate the room lighting was, the wine, the white rum.. 

oh fuck, they just interrupted a moment. 

the other two didn’t notice, too scared of the noises they’ve been hearing all night. “that was the loudest one yet!” jake announced. 

“i’m not going back in there.” corey whined.

“we’ve been hearing shit over there, what about you?” sam asked, before mouthing a sorry to the two sitting in bed. elias smiled at the gesture, before trying to wipe off his smirk.

“nope.” colby shook his head, his eyes less red then a few minutes ago.

“it’s safer in here.” corey stated, setting down the pillow he brought from the other room, and curling into a ball onto the floor, making elias laugh.

“are we having a sleepover?” he asked.

“oh, fucking totally.” jake snickered, running back to the other room and grabbing every blanket and pillow he could.

sam made a gesture with his finger, calling over colby. he noticed and walked to the bathroom with him. 

“uh, hey, sorry about that, we didn’t mean to interrupt you guys.”

“interrupt? you uh didn’t interrupt anything we were just talking.”

sam made a face, before nodding. it was his business, so when he wanted to tell him, he would, so he left it alone. “alright.. you ready for this sleepover?” he smiled.

“fuckkk yeahh.”

it had been over an hour, everyone was dead asleep, corey snoring. elias was the only one awake, he was too in thought to sleep. he watched over colby, who was laying right infront of him on the floor with the rest of the guys. they were each laying on both bed mattresses, covered in blankets, basically in a line.

he had been debating to put an arm around colby, but.. if they woke up like that he could expose colby to the rest of his friends, or atleast cause him to get teased. 

after a bit, he decided to shuffle his left arm under colby, so it was less noticeable. he held the boy, smiling, before finally falling asleep.

he didn’t know this, but colby was awake the entire time, smiling, wondering what the frick he was gonna do about this goofy medium he found himself possibly falling in love with...

[ask-outside-stars]

I have so many questions!

1. William, what are your favorite movies and/or TV shows to watch with Ford?

2. Have you considered checking out Epic: The Musical?

3. What is your favorite thing to do in bed with Ford? (Ford can answer this too of he wants)

4. When was the moment you realized you had caught feeling for Ford? (Again, Ford can answer too if he wants)

5. What is your favorite food?

6. What is your favorite book?

7. What are some things you look forward to doing once your able to move around again?

8. What do you think about when you look at the moon and stars?

9. Have you ever considered becoming a therapist, or was Bill Cipher more than enough?

10. Do you think you’ll return to Dipper & Mabel’s house for Thanksgiving, or will you skip this year and opt for a Friends-giving with Soos’ family and Stanley (or some other friends that I’m forgetting)?

Ford sets down the paper filled with questions in front of Will, who rubs his hands excitedly like he's about to dig into a rich chocolate cake.

Will: "Oh boy! These are all great questions! Let's see here..."

Will: "Fordsy and I really like watching documentaries and sci-fi movies together. When we watch sci-fi, I always ask him to point out the inaccuracies and we both take turns telling stories about our times through the multiverse."

Ford chuckles.

Ford: "Half the time we don't even remember what the movie was about."

Will: "Question two... oh! I've heard of it! Mabel introduced me to a few of the songs, and I've been guilty of belting out quite a few of them in the shower. Or while cleaning. Or when I think I'm alone. Or when I'm working."

Ford: "He's saying he likes it."

Ford: "Let's see, question three..."

Will: "Other than the obvious, does sleeping count?"

Ford hides a laugh in his hand as Will grins cheekily at him. Will's face then falls a little at question four and he takes on a thoughtful appearance.

Will: "Hm. First life or second? In my first life, when I was Bill, I realized I loved him after he tried to shut the portal down. I didn't know that's what I felt for him at the time and I handled it... poorly. In my second and current life, I realized that what I felt for Ford went beyond just simple attraction after a few dates. He just felt so familiar to me."

Ford takes his hand.

Ford: "For me, I fell for you at first sight when you were Bill. And, well, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the same case again with you as Will. Although, I suppose 'love' is a generous word, but I certainly felt intrigued by you immediately. Love came naturally afterwards."

Will: "You sap~"

Will pulls Ford into a kiss, who laughs against Will's mouth and reminds him that he still has some questions to answer.

Will: "Favorite food, huh? Easy! Spaghetti! Or any kind of Mexican food. Abuelita's been teaching me some of her recipes, and Soos has been a great taste-tester."

Will: "And my favorite book? The one I wrote, duh! Where is it anyway?"

Ford: "I... well, I can't quite recall. I think first I tried throwing it into the bottomless pit, then setting it on fire..."

Will gasps dramatically and looks offended.

Will: "You bastard! I worked hard on that!"

Ford: "O- oh look! Another question for you!"

Will glares at Ford then answers the next one.

Will: "My mobility gets stronger every day. I'm especially looking forward to our wedding dance."

Ford: "Just please don't push yourself too hard. You know how I worry."

Will: "To address number eight, I feel a sort of melancholy, if I'm being honest. I used to be able to hold the stars in my hand, and explore the vast reaches of the endless sky. I once saw beyond the furthest star and flew to the greatest heights... but not anymore. I miss it sometimes."

Ford takes his hand in a comforting gesture and reads question nine for Will.

Will: "You know, that's actually a great idea! I'd have to go back to school for that though, wouldn't I? To become a licensed therapist and all."

Ford shrugs.

Ford: "I'm sure Stanley could whip up a fake license. But if you do want to go through official channels, you'd have my support."

Will sighs dreamily and Ford decides to answer the next question for him.

Ford: "Will isn't strong enough to make the journey all the way to California, so we'll be hosting Thanksgiving here in Gravity Falls. Sherman's already agreed to attend, so I'm sure he'll be able to drag Lexi and Herschel out here as well. It would be nice for them to meet our Gravity Falls family, after all."

[inkyrainstorms]

Okay may I suggest tho

Stan does leave in the "To Be Alone, Together" AU. Just dips and heads off to live on his own, probably doing something weirdness or anomaly related, but still keeps tabs on his family in case they need him to intervene or help somehow. And it's because of this he notices something is wrong when Dipper and Mabel go back to Gravity Falls the next summer, because none of them are acting like they should, normal and thrilled to be back in Gravity Falls and exploring everything. Ford has whatever this is the worst (because he is missing almost all of his key foundational memories Stanley you idiot), but everyone is acting kind of weird, like all of them seem to think something is off in some way.

So he heads into Gravity Falls, just for a bit. Just to,,, check in. Ends up saving Dipper from a monster of the week, and Dipper acts like, super grateful and happy, but also just kind of follows him and asks him a ton of questions because hey, Stan looks just like his Great Uncle Ford, so he has to be an anomaly of some kind, what is he?

And Dipper introduces him to Mabel pretty quickly, and they all seem to get on like a house on fire really quickly for reasons only Stan understands. And I'm just thinking of like a whole summer where Stan is the mystery in a kind of twisted version of the first summer, because Dipper and Mabel understand a lot of the rest of Gravity Falls at this point, but who is this weird grumpy old man who looks like their Grunkle Great Uncle and seems really cagey but also never seems upset to see them? What the heck is his deal?

you madlad, you absolute genius. That would such SUCH a fun au if this au oh my gosh. in a world where Stan doesn’t explain anything to Ford, where he isn’t there to help jog whatever memories managed to make their way back to him, Ford would probably feel a lot more untethered. Even in the fic itself, from the beginning Ford knew that something was missing and that he couldn’t trust his own mind, but he didn’t know why. A world where Ford simply has to live with his own mind, without any explanation for it, would be soul crushing for him.

as the four the younger twins, I imagine their experience with Stan’s memory wipe situation would result in them simply believing Stan was a shapeshifter of some sort from the start — somebody had to be watching them over the summer, after all. The Axolotl is a lot of things, but Stanley is too important to erase fully.

So the twins ‘discovering’ Stanley watching over them, and seeing their Uncle Ford so sad, would probably result in the silliest set up shenanigans of ‘how do we make Grunkle Ford happy? Give him a cool new anomaly/friend to hang out with!!’ The Mystery of Stan Pines indeed

… thinking about it, this would probably be a really drawn out and convulsed version of the original fic, aha. The little twins would be such a cute addition <3

that’s actually really cool, the idea that Ford and Stanley will become friends again, become brothers, through fate and sheer will in every timeline. Even a total memory wipe and the power of a god couldn’t keep them apart for long. They’ve spent too long alone already

[fairy-princette]

i gave your name as my emergency phone call

AO3 link | 1 2 (you are here) 3 4 5 6

Stan receives a postcard from his twin brother - who he's not seen in a decade - asking for his help. But like with everything else in his life, he runs into some trouble on his way there

2. in the name of someone i no longer know

“Pines!”

Stanley tilted his head up from where he was lying on the metal bench - not the best place he’d slept but certainly not the worst. A uniformed officer was glaring at him through the holding cell bars.

“It’s your lucky day - you’ve made bail.” He pulled out a ring of keys, unlocking the cell door and stepping away for Stan to walk in front of him. They headed to the front desk where he was given his personal items along with a stack of paperwork, including the details of his court date and chit for the Stanmobile stating it was to remain in the - in Stan’s opinion - questionable care of the Nevada state police department.

“If you’re keeping my car how am I meant to get anywhere? We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Guess you’re going to have to ask your pal. He’s the one that paid your bail.” The officer jerked his chin to the lone figure in the waiting area, a man in a plaid shirt and round glasses, who was very pointedly not looking at them.

Stan clicked his tongue and hoisted his duffle over his shoulder, heading towards the stranger.

The man looked up as he approached and stood, offering his hand. “Well hi there, I’m Fiddleford, Fiddleford McGucket, I’m a friend of Ford’s. And you must be Stanley. Y’all really are a pair of peas in a pod, ain’t ya.”

Stan shook the hand, which has a surprising amount of strength behind it considering the man looked like he was made of uncooked spaghetti.

“Folks just call me Stan. It’s good to meet you Fiddleford - thanks for the bail.”

“Ah well, it’s Ford you should be thanking, it’s his grant money. Said he’d be claiming it on expenses anyway. I’m sorry it took so long to get here - I ain’t used to driving so far and had to stop for a kip at a motel, but now there’s the two of us we can be taking turns. Speaking of, better skedaddle on back before Ford manages to pull out his hair from the stress.”

———

Fiddleford glanced over at the man sitting across from him in the truck’s cab. The early-afternoon Nevada sun beat down on them through the windows as they drove down the highway and quiet music crackled from the radio, filling the silence. Stanley was sat with his arms across his chest, looking like he was trying to take up as little space as possible in the truck.

“There’s some tapes in that there glove compartment if you want to have a nosey - might be better than the radio with the reception we’ve got here.”

Stan gave a nod of acknowledgment before digging through the glove compartment, making quiet humming noises as he read their titles.

Fiddleford went back to focusing on the road until he heard the riffling noises stop. He glanced over again and saw Stan holding a piece of paper.

“This your kid?”

“That’s- yeah, that’s my son Tate.” Fiddleford didn’t even need to look to know what the photo was. It had been taken at Tate’s fifth birthday last year. He was grinning up at the camera with chocolate smeared around his mouth, which was missing a front tooth, and was wearing a party hat that had slipped down to cover his eyes. He’d taken a full week off from his work with Ford to spend time with Tate. The party had been filled with screaming children and balloons and Emma-May had a whole stack of photos from the day.

“He’s a cute kid.”“Yeah, he is. He’d shot up like a weed the last time I saw him, and lost two more teeth. Though one of them was from falling over a branch when he was out exploring the duck pond at the park.”

“Sounds like me and Ford when we were kids, out exploring and getting into mischief.” Fiddleford caught the man’s wistful smile out of the corner of his eye. “He doesn’t stay with you at Gravity Falls?”

“No, no. He lives with his mum out in California. We’re, um, we’re actually in the middle of a divorce right now. I was away too much working with Ford, and then when I did visit I wasn’t there mentally, y’know? Still just planning the stages of my experiments rather than being there for my family. It wasn’t fair on Tate, and it wasn’t fair on Emma-May, leaving her to raise him on her own, especially when she has her own research to do.” Fiddleford shook his head, clearing his thoughts. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, you’re basically a complete stranger.”

“I have been told I’m a good listener. And sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger - doesn’t matter what a stranger thinks about you. They don’t know you, so they can’t really judge I guess.”

“Now ain’t that the truth. Those’re some wise words you’ve got there.”“Ah, probably just something I heard somewhere. I’m not really one for all that smart stuff.”

“Now don’t be talkin’ ‘bout yourself like that - there’s more’n one way to be smart and it’s not all in books. Look at Stanford - that man knows everything there is to know about quantum physics and anomalous evolution, but trying to get him to read a room or play an instrument? He couldn’t be more lost. Sometimes I think he ain’t got the good sense God gave a rock.”

Stanley gave a noncommittal grunt. “Well either way, I’m sorry about your wife. It’s not easy losing family.”

They continued driving on in silence for a few more miles as Stan continued to rootle through the glove compartment as the radio reception faded out to static.

“Speaking of opening up to strangers,” Fiddle ford broke the silence again, “Now I know this ain’t none of my business, but what was it you were in jail for? Stanford only said it was for speeding, but last time I checked that wasn’t worth a court order.”

“You drove ten hours here to get and paid for my bail - even if wasn’t your money. I reckon if it was going to be anyone’s business it’d be your’s. The speeding’s just what I got pulled over for. Turns out cops aren’t too happy about folks driving about with fake plates on their car or a fake name on their license. Technically counts as driving without a license apparently. Guess I’m lucky they didn’t find all my outstanding warrants or they probably wouldn’t have let you bail me out.”

By the end of Stanley’s explanation Fiddleford had given up on even pretending to watch the road, almost completely turned in his seat to gape at his passenger. Eventually Stan paused in his tape search and smirked over at Fiddleford. “Take it from someone who just got done for reckless driving - you really should keep your eye on the road.”

The engineer flushed and spun his head back towards the windshield. “Those uh, those outstanding warrants. Anything I should be concerned about?”

“Nah, not unless you got some secret riches I can con you out of.”

———

The afternoon sun began to lower in the sky and the Nevada scrubland grew greener as they reached Oregon. After hours on the road Stan had insisted he take over driving, and Fiddleford was now sat on his opposite side in the passenger street, a road map folded out in front of him.

“Any ideas what we’re driving into when we get there? Ford’s postcard was pretty bare bones.” ‘Bare bones’ was putting it pretty lightly - just the phrase ‘please come’ followed by an address and phone number.

Fiddleford took off his glasses, wiping them on the edge of his shirt before placing them back on his face. “It’s a bit… complicated. How familiar are you with Ford’s work?”

“Considering this is the first time he’s contacted me in ten years, let’s got with ‘not at all’.”

“To cut a very long story short, Ford was out in Gravity Falls researching the anomalies, tryin’ to work out what was attracting them. He met this… person who said they could help in with his research-”

“And let me guess, he wasn’t totally on the straight and narrow?”“Ain’t that the half of it. This guy, Bill, gave him blueprints for making a portal between universes-”

“You’re kidding, right? What is this, some kind of comic book plot? You’re all mad scientists working in some secret underground lab?” Fiddleford’s silence spoke volumes to him. “Sure, of course, Ford’s built himself a secret underground lab to build a portal to another dimension. Why not. Does it have a secret door? I bet it’s got a secret door.”

“A secret door to a secret elevator with a secret code. At that point I’m pretty sure it was just for the drama. Anyway, that’s when Ford called me in to help on the engineering side, got it up in no time. Things went wrong with the portal, I left the project, and I told Ford if he had even a lick of sense he’d destroy the thing. That was a few weeks back and seems he’s come around - he wants it destroyed and for it never to be rebuilt. I’m thinking this is where you come into it. The plans for how to build it are in his journals and Ford-”

“Ford would never destroy his own work,” Stan sighed, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “So he, what, wants me to destroy it instead? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“No. He said that you travel a lot. He wants you to take his journal as far away from Gravity Falls as you can.”

Stan slammed on the breaks.

“Ten years and he- No. He can’t- I can’t-”

He tugged at his seatbelt, frantically clawing at the release button and swinging the door open, walking out into the sparse trees surrounding the road. He was vaguely aware of the sound of the other man turning off the truck and clambering out after him, but little penetrated through the noise of static filling his head. Ten years. Ten years. And the only reason Ford had deigned to contact him - not even with a phone call, but a bloody postcard no less - wasn’t just to ask a favour but to make sure he was as far away from him as possible for the rest of forever.

He marched through the trees, small branches catching at him, creating scratches across his arms, but he paid them no mind.

“Stanley! Stanley, where are you going?” “I don’t know!”

“Stanley, please at least come back to the truck! You can’t just walk off into the forest, it’s not safe!”

Stanley felt a hand on his shoulder and he whipped around to catch the arm, grabbing the other man’s wrist.

“Did he ever tell you why we don’t speak?”“What?”

“Stanford. Did he ever tell you why he’s not spoken to me in a decade?”

“No. I’m sorry Stanley, before yesterday I didn’t even know you existed.”

Stan let out a barking laugh. “Of course, typical Sixer. Why deal with your problems when you can ignore them instead.” Stanley dropped Fiddleford’s arm, the fight draining out of him, and slumped against a nearby tree. “We were seventeen, in high school. He’d made this fancy machine and some folks from this fancy university were coming to see it. We always said it was the two of us against the world and here he was planning to abandon me. I was upset and scared so I went to the school in the night to see what all the fuss was about. There it was, spinning away like nothing was wrong, and I just-” He let out a sigh. “I punched the table. Not the machine or nothing, I wasn’t trying to break it, I just slammed my hand on the table and a screw fell out. I put it back in and the thing was still spinning away so I thought it was fine.

“Turns out it wasn’t fine and that one little screw falling out had broke the whole thing. The university folks weren’t interested in him anymore and it was all my fault.” Stan slid down the trunk of the tree to sit in a pile of dead pine needles, his arms curled around his legs. “Nobody would believe it was an accident, especially not Ford. Of course I had to be jealous, of course I had to have been sabotaging it, of course I had to screw it up, just like I do with everything else.” Fiddleford sat down quietly next to him.

“Pa kicked me out that same night. Ford might think I ruined his life but from where I’m sat he’s doing pretty great. He still went to college, he’s still doing his research, he’s got his own home with his own secret base. He still has a family. What’ve I got? Not even a high school diploma, a list of states I’m blacklisted from, more failed businesses than I can shake a stick at, and a twenty year old El Diablo that I have to fucking live in. Except I don’t even have that anymore because I was trying to get to Ford so bad that it’s impounded. And now, the first time he talks to me in ten years and it’s only because he wants a favour and then for me to get the hell out of his life good. Because what? I owe him? I’ve not paid enough for one mistake I made as a kid ten years ago?” Stan wiped the back of his arm across his face, wiping off the tears staining his face.

“Here.” Fiddleford produced a handkerchief from a pocket, proferring it to him.

“Nerd.” He rubbed his eyes with the cloth. “Thanks.”

“Your pa better hope I never meet him or I’m punching him the face.”

Stanley let out a wet laugh. “Ol’ Filbrick’s built like, well a brick shit house, I’d like to see you try.”

“Hey, I might not look much but I grew up on a farm. I’ve wrestled pigs before, you know.”

“Yeah, and how much of that you been doing since college.”

“I concede your point. I’ll build a robot to punch him in the face for me. That way I won’t even have to meet him.”

“Now that I really would like to see.”

They sat in silence as dusk began to fall.

“Thanks for listening to me. I don’t have a whole lot of folks to talk to, living on the road and all.”

“I’m happy to. You know, a wise man once told me it’s a lot easier to talk to strangers anyway. Although, with how much soul-bearing we’ve been doing today I reckon we’ve got to at least be acquaintances by now, whaddya think?”

Stan let out a thin laugh. “I could have space for an acquaintance, yeah.”

Stanley watched as Fiddleford picked at the pine needles on the ground, similar to how he’d been with his glasses earlier.

“I know it doesn’t excuse what he’s done, but Ford’s not in his right mind right now. That guy, Bill? He’s not really a guy so much as a demon from a nightmare realm that possesses Ford every time he goes to sleep. Last time I saw him he looked like he’d barely slept in a week, and hadn’t showered in longer. When he made that postcard plan of this, he probably wasn’t all there. Now I’m not saying he don’t at least owe you an apology, but maybe take his behaviour with a pinch of salt.”

Stan sat staring up at the stars through the tree branches for a moment. “I should probably be more surprised at the whole ‘demon’ thing, but if anyone was going to accidentally make a deal with a demon it would be Ford. He really is the most stupid genius sometimes. And the very least I’m going to do is say that to his face. Come on.”

Stanley groaned as he stood, offering his hand to Fiddleford and pulling him. “Thanks. I’m driving the rest of the way though. You must be tired and I know the roads here better.”

———

Fiddleford drove them along the highway as Stan got comfortable in the passenger seat, his jacket thrown over him like as blanket. Just as he was starting to dose off Fiddleford heard him mumble “Don’t see why you need to hide the book anyway. Just rip out the pages with the plans. Stupid genius.”

[peachyblkdemonslayer]

All the shows I watched in 2024

Spoilers for some of the shows being talked about

Fright krewe EP 12

7.5/10 Fright Krewe is the story of 5 teens from New Orleans being brought into the world of Voodoo by the Queen of Voodoo herself to stop an ancient demon from wrecking chaos on their town with the help of the Lwa who have chosen them. 

I enjoyed the show overall especially with getting some more knowledge about the Lwa and other spirits and creatures. The problem I do have with the show mostly has to do with it begin the age of streaming and budge restrictions. it feels a little empty despite being set in New Orleans in terms of the back ground shots. The animation also feels very stiff at times as well and makes the characters come off as a bit emotionless when the voices aren't making up with it.

I also would have preferred if that whole main cast was of black kids instead of it being 3 out of the 5 of them seeing as Voodoo is a African based religion and culture. I couldn't really tell what Missy was ethnicity speaking and they could have easily made Stanley afro-latino too. And finally the show felt way too rushed and short in the first season since we're not really given time to explore this world way more in depth especially when it comes to the spirits and monsters that inhabit the world. Still an enjoyable show but I wish it was given more time to flesh it's self out. 

A sign of affection EP.12

8.5/10 Ahhhhhhhhh!! This show is so cute and nice and comforting for me. The way Itsuomi takes the time to make sure Yuki is comfortable and that's she's at peace makes my heart melt. And it's really nice that so many people in Yuki life take the time to learn hot to communicate with her and be accommodating to her needs.

And I would have given the show a 10/10 had it not been for the whole side plot with Emma and Shin. I didn't care to much for their story in general since didn't overlap too much with the main plot also cause their romance wasn't really giving anything. Loved all the side characters and getting a more in depth look into how deafness effect people depending on a multitude of things 

Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity can make you a wizard? EP.12 

9/10 Oh my god this show is so good and wonderful. I love that it shows a realistic deception of how some people may struggle to communicate how they feel to their partners. Along with how Adachi had came to depend on his powers too much when it came to telling Kurosawa how he felt at times.

Also adore that they talked about their relationship and got through the rough patches instead of doing the miscommunicate trope that I hate so much. Their matching rings and moving in together at the end made me so happy that my face kinda of hurted. Wish we got to see more of Minato and Tsuge relationship but i could see if there's a side manga for that. Overall really good watch and will come back to watch again one day. 

Tadaima Okaeri EP 12

8.5/10 When I heard about this manga getting an anime I was surprised and excited since it was one I used to re read a lot a while back. And to no one surprise I loved the show as well, not only is is super cute and just a all around very good comfort show this has to be one of my favorite deception of the omeagverse I've seen. In an average one they tend to only knowledge some of the problems that come with the hierarchy in the world but here we cover a lot more.

One being that things like birth control, as Masaki has to take a shot since the pills he was used to taking had stop being affective. They show the side effects of him doing so which is a nice touch I really like as it reflects the real life struggles people go through when trying different forms of birth control. 

And how someone like Mochizuki might feel being around alphas as omegas are treated as second rate citizens. Though we dont spend too much time on that story line it was nice that they were being realistic on how someone who doesn't have the support system they can depend on may feel in that situation. Overall love the show and kinda hope the mangaka comes back and adds more to the universe on day 

Twilight out of focus EP 12

7.5/10 Like a lot of shows I've been watching this year I had a really great time with this. It so nice to see that not only are we getting more queer anime with good budget to show off some great animation, but also something super cute and endearing to see unfold. I liked all of the cast including the reoccurring characters that popped up here and there. Through the 3 couples we had I have to say Mao and Hisahi were my favorite but the other two were nice.

My only complaint I have is that everything went at rapid speed which I can't really blame the show for since more then likely the manga went at a neck breaking pace. Also loved the transition shots from TV to wide screen like the movies. I even looked liked a film term when it came up if I wasn't already familiar with it. Also loved that we started the show with Mao and Hiashi and ended it with them too. Overall a really good and easy watch and wouldn't mind coming back to it again.

Wind breaker EP 13

9/10 Really enjoyed this show and the premise that it laid out. Our main lead Haruka is a nice slight change to the usual lead we have in these types of series. Someone who feels the need to be by themselves cause of how the people around him treated him terribly let a mark on him. But Haruka learning to get closer to other characters and depend on others and seeing that getting/being the top dog isn't as what it seems makes him feel a lot more fleshed out.

The show also does a great job of getting you to like and get attached these characters very quick and craving more interactions between them. The fight choreography is some of the best I've seen in any show ever as each punch and kick feels like it has weight to it. Along with a great ost and plenty of good build up I see this being a sleeper hit for the year. Hate that we left off at a cliff hanger but will be seating for more next year.

​​​​​​​ Higurashi when they cry EP 25

8/10 Ah yes one of the most iconic horror animes to ever exist. Higurashi when they cry is most definitely the show 13 year old you looked up for it most gore scenes but if you sit down to actually watch it way more then that. Despite the fact that I've watched many videos explaining the storyline and backgrounds of the characters I couldn't help but be fully immersed in the story. Finding out more details about the little rural village was slow but worth.

And coming to connect the dots yourself as more of the time loops happened made me feel good. And you really get to love these characters and understand why they did the things they did. I can most definitely see why this is such a staple in the anime horror space and I can't wait to start watching Kai.

[darlingdaisyfarm]

I was going through a thought and wondered, how would Stan and Ford react to you getting hurt? Like on a mission, heist, or exploration.

[ how Stan & Ford react when you get hurt ]

a/n: sometimes my imagination is so embarrassingly bad, but i tried! i hope you enjoy it despite that <3 thank you for the idea tho!!

STANLEY

★ if it happened outdoors, Stan is grabbing your arm, yanking you to your feet, “what the hell were you thinking, huh?!” if it’s a mission or a heist, he’s 100% mad at the situation, and lowkey mad at you for getting hurt in the first place. but it's just because he cares too much

★ you’re hurt, and his mind is racing. “no. no. not this. not you, goddammit”

★ if it’s really bad, like you’ve passed out or you’re not responding, he panics. “c’mon, please, please stay with me, sweetheart”

★ whatever the situation, Stanley gets you out immediately, doesn't hesitate or finish the job or whatever he was doing. he literally carries you if he has to, forgets his own injuries. “c’mon, c’mon, i gotcha, we’re gonna get outta here, baby, stay with me.”

★ if you're bleeding bad he physically presses his hand over it and curses under his breath like “shitshitshit fuck, okay okay, you’re alright, you’re good, you’re so good, baby, fuck, hold still”

★ if it's really bad, he can't help but be emotional. screams at anybody who even tries to slow him down. doctors, nurses, cops. “if you don’t fuckin’ MOVE i’m gonna PUT you through a WALL.”

★ after you're safe, sleeping or resting, Stan gets very very quiet. sits by your bedside hunched and still worried, not knowing where to put his hands. instead, just keeps replaying this situation in his head. how he could've stopped it or what he should’ve done

★ if you so much as whimper in your sleep, he's immediately there. touching your wrist, smoothing your hair, whispering “s’okay. i gotcha. m’right here.”

★ i hate to write that but. . . he absolutely cries :( and hates himself for it even more. he tries not to cry loudly. at least, not obvious. but these stubborn angry tears keep falling and he wipes away fast because he’s mad they’re even happening

★ blames himself because guess why? he thinks he's a screw up. even if it wasn’t his fault. even if you jumped in front of danger to save HIM. he feels like your hurt is a debt he can never repay. and he’ll work twice as hard after

★ probably won't let you lift a finger for a week and will even argue with you about it. “what, you’re gonna get up and make yourself dinner with that leg? sit your sweet ass down before i TIE ya to the couch, baby, ok?“

★ absolutely buys you a stupid little get well gift. like a giant teddy bear idk. it’s ugly and cheap and it makes you laugh and he looks at you like he’d go back to hell and back for that smile

★ his hands are too rough and he knows it, so when he tends your injuries, he touches you so soft it's almost clumsy. “m’sorry, kid. my hands ain’t. . . they ain’t good for delicate stuff. but y’know i’m tryin’, right?”

★ “yer skin’s too good for bruises. shoulda been made’a stardust, i dunno.” then immediately snores and drools on your shoulder

★ Stanley hides his injuries from you. if he got scraped up during the mission too, he’ll downplay it SO hard. like limping with a bloody nose but “pfft, what, this? nahhh. absolutely fine.” because he thinks if you knew he was hurting too, you’d feel worse

★ he lets you wear his shirts because they’re soft and smell like him and he thinks it’ll help you heal faster if you’re comfy

STANFORD

★ freezes for half a second. because he’s trying to understand how bad is it / how much time do we have / what’s the fastest way to help you. he can't waste a minute

★ gets terrifyingly competent. applies pressure, builds splints from scraps, mutters smth about blood loss and nerve damage. talks you through it with a voice so calm but inside he wants to throw up because of worry. “stay awake for me, darling. keep talking. good. eyes on me. good. you’re doing perfectly” Ford keeps talking clearly so that you keep your focus on him

★ honestly, no matter how hard he tries, i dont think he’d be the perfect calm collected person. i mean sure, if you get hurt, Ford’s first reaction is to jump into doctor-mode. hes not even thinking about it. because what's important is to make sure you're breathing and blinking. but ugh, his eyes are the giveaway. they’re usually so calm, but when it’s you, theyre so wide and scared, full of worry, brows knitted, biting his lip

★ so yeah he tries to be calm but fails. so he snaps at anyone who distracts him. “either help me or get out of my way. let me do my job”

★ gets frustrated if you won’t let him fix you. he needs you to let him help. so hes constantly like “no, no, no, don't you dare pull away from me”

★ once you’re safe, he cant really breathe for a second. i mean, he had just experienced the most terrifying moments of his life, almost losing the person he loved most. so Ford's hands are trembling. he tries to hide it because he thinks he needs to be “the strong one” but if you so much as reach for him he folds into your touch still

★ if it was on anomaly hunting or expedition, he feels guilty for bringing you along. “i should’ve known it was too dangerous. i never should’ve let you come. i was selfish.” he hates himself for it

★ i think later, Ford develops a quiet habit of memorizing your vitals. like, your heartbeat, your breathing when you sleep. all the time, he keeps checking without waking you. just running fingertips lightly over your wrist or brushing his hand near your collarbone. it’s a comfort thing. if he can feel you breathing, he can sleep

★ this cutie builds you ridiculous safety gadgets. “here, this bracelet contains an emergency teleport beacon, a medical scanner and a plasma shield generator. standard fare, really.” it's like wearing an entire fucking sci-fi lab on your wrist. but you wear it anyway because well, you can't say no to him

★ also when it beeps or whatever, Ford panics instantly. no matter how minor

★ might accidentally blurt out love confession while tending you. like patching a cut and muttering “i can’t lose you. i love you. i. . .“ then FREEZES because he didn’t mean to say it out loud yet

★ he’s very doting when you're hurt. he’s the one who makes sure you’re comfortable, brings you books to read, does everything he can to distract you from the pain

★ and if it gets to a point where you’re just in too much pain, Ford’s solution is putting his hands on you, gently massaging while whispering that it will pass soon. i think Ford is more affectionate than usual in these moments. he lets his vulnerability show

★ Ford will get a little obsessive about safety after. “what do you mean you’re going into the woods alone?”

[randomthefox]

Flynn literally swooped in and did to Stanley what he did for Penders at the beginning of his own career: play the fix-it guy

If I were Stanley, I'd almost be offended. The whole issue was nothing more than the characters trying to patch up plot holes (Sonic insisting that he had no other choice) and giving affected apologies (Jewel and Lanolin - also, as predicted, the focus was more on the latter being tricked, and not on her being abusive. Silver certainly was all 👍 about it). He also broke up the DCs because it's clearly what he thinks development is.

It really smacks me of the same energy of Flynn having Eggman scream that he hates being called Baldy McNosehair because it was never funny. Way to mock someone else's writing. When will he recognize his own mistakes?

(there are other issues like Sonic being a cunt or Tangle policing Whisper's desire to kill Mimic, but that's minor)

It really does come off like he thinks he has the right to piss all over everyone else from atop his ivory tower, doesn't it?

I call it out for being insecure and pathetic because, from the perspective of a writer: man who even fucking CARES? So some whiners online said it was stupid that Sonic dressed up in a disguise, and Jewel didn't think to crash the plane into the Hudson River instead of a shopping mall. Whooptie fucking doo, who gives a shit. The POINT was we got to draw Sonic dressed up as Kamen Rider and it was cool, and Jewel had to endure an intense emotional conflict where she had to choose the needs of the many over the needs of the few. We told the story we wanted to tell in as complete a form as we were capable of telling it. So what if some nerds picked some nits. Dust off our hands and move onto the next one.

I don't know how Stanley feels about it, but that's how I would feel if I wrote this dogshit comic. I'd move onto the next story. Oh shit, somebody stole the chaos emerald that Tails apparently had the whole time! Better get to the bottom of it woohay!

But no, Flynn apparently thinks its worth dedicating TWO ENTIRE ISSUES to fucking clean up? Whereupon half of it is just him shoving his own words into the characters mouths to have them address and respond to fan criticism??? About a story HE DIDN'T EVEN FUCKING WRITE?

Why is he SUCH a fucking LOSER, man? Ian Flynn is SUCH a LOSER, it fucking pisses me off. The man literally cannot deal with ANY CRITICISM AT ALL it's so pathetic. I still remember the hissy fit he threw because people were memeing on "big oof" up to the point that when Kyle lightly referenced it as a rib Flynn responded with this overwrought annoyed sigh. And eventually he just said that it was Adam Bryce Thomas's fault for drawing the panel wrong. Like, dude. You wrote a silly little line of dialog and people thought it was funny. Get a sense of humor about yourself for fucks sake.

And not only is it pathetic in this case but it's also patronizing because HE DIDN'T WRITE THE STORY. STANLEY DID. And yet he STILL feels the need to slam on the fucking breaks and turn around and start yelling at the kids in the backseat to shut the hell up or we're turning around and going home EVEN THOUGH HE ISN'T EVEN THE ONE DRIVING. His ego is so fucking fragile that he cannot tolerate people criticizing the comic just because he's associated with it, even when he had nothing to do with what people are criticizing.

He could have used this issue to do fucking ANYTHING. He could have had a little aside showing what Knuckles was up to all this time. Or a little interlude of Rouge going on a heist or something. Or a silly little story where Cream is exploring away from home to find some flowers to make a coronation for Vanilla. Or fucking ANYTHING that might have been actually fun or interesting. But no instead he has the issue be devoted to Sonic patching up plot holes with chewing gum, and Lanolin playing the ukulele.

At least they finally drew Silver properly.